Council members press for a seat on proposed Buffalo Parking Authority

Members of the Buffalo City Committee on Community Development on July 1 asked the administration to preserve a council role in the creation and governance of a proposed Buffalo Parking Authority and to clarify whether the council would see individual property sales before any transfer.

A committee member who raised the item said the council had included language in the budget that allows Albany to enable a parking authority but that the council must maintain transparency and a voice when city-owned ramps or parking assets are moved. "Part of our agreement in May, at the budget with the administration is that the council would have a seat on the authority, and we wanna make sure that that is still something that's being considered," the council member said.

Committee members asked whether the council still must pass a home rule request for the authority; staff replied the council need not file a home rule request if the language was included in the state budget as Article VII language and the item was not a separate bill with different sponsors. Committee members also sought clarity on whether proposed ramp sales would return as individual items to the common council or could be transferred to the authority in one action. City staff said the parking authority has not yet been constituted and that administration intent may be to transfer ramps to the authority at once but that such a transfer is not required.

The committee opened discussion and then moved to table the item; members said they would continue to ask about the authority every two weeks until they receive a response from the administration. No formal vote to create an authority occurred at the meeting.