Buffalo's 2026-27 budget closed a roughly $100 million gap with a sizable property-tax increase, about 19%, plus added state aid. That's the near-term pressure. The bigger, longer-term costs on this page are ones the city can still plan for and get ahead of, starting with one number.
The whole story, in five steps
Tap any step to jump into the plain-English explainer, about four minutes end to end.
One number worth publishing: the repair bill
Every year, the city could publish one “cost of good repair” figure: what it would take to bring the roads, pipes, and buildings Buffalo already owns back to good condition. The audit says about half their value is used up; no report totals what fixing it would cost. That one figure is what lets a city budget upkeep, fix the worst first, and show progress year to year.
Buffalo isn't alone: in May 2026, municipal-credit analyst Richard Ciccarone sized this same unmeasured repair burden across nearly 2,000 U.S. cities at about $1 trillion, larger than their bonded debt and unfunded pensions combined. See the report ↗
Why it's winnable
A rough version can be built from figures already in the audit, federal agencies and New York City already publish theirs, and Buffalo's new data-driven paving program is a real start.
It takes one Council member to ask. Read the full case →
Send your Council member a ready-made note in about five minutes.
The repair bill is one piece of a bigger picture. Two more questions frame the rest:
Buffalo's turning a corner, and the to-do list is clear: keep our promises, care for what we own, and grow by filling in the streets we already serve, so new development pays for itself. We deserve a Buffalo that can afford good things, good parks, open libraries, clean water, reliable services, and keep affording them for the long haul. Get involved with Strong Towns Buffalo →