Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says the city never promised community groups federal Covid pandemic funds to help them offer residents services.
The city’s priority for spending its $331 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds was to make sure the city’s fiscal health is “stable and strong.”
The federal government did not require cities to share any of the pandemic relief funding with arts organizations or community groups, Brown said.
The Buffalo Common Council approved on Thursday Mayor Byron Brown’s plan to cut about $60 million in federal Covid-19 pandemic aid from a variety of community projects to cover budget shortfalls in 2024 and 2025.
“Our plan all along was to look at any gaps, any concerns, any needs in the finances of the city and use resources from ARPA to make sure that the city’s fiscal health was stable and strong,” Brown said while meeting Tuesday with The Buffalo News editorial board and reporters.
Still, representatives from local community-based organizations can expect to hear from the city over the next few weeks on the status of their applications for funding.
But the funds they get may be less than expected.
“Many of them will get funds,” Brown said. “They will get funds at a reduced level, but there was never a hard and…
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