Buffalo, New York
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 6 min
| Buffalo, New York | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Buffalo
Byron Brown | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2021 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2025 |
| Last city council election: | 2023 |
| Next city council election: | 2027 |
| City council seats: | 9 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 256,480 |
| Race: | White 47.1% African American 36.5% Asian 5.9% Native American 0.5% Pacific Islander 0.0% Two or more 4.0% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 12.3% |
| Median household income: | $37,354 |
| High school graduation rate: | 84.6% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.6% |
| Related Buffalo offices | |
| New York Congressional Delegation New York State Legislature New York state executive offices | |
Buffalo is a city in Erie County, New York. The city's population was 278,349 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government[edit]
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Buffalo utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor[edit]
The mayor is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[1][2] The current Mayor of Buffalo is Byron Brown (D). Brown assumed office in 2005.
City council[edit]
The Buffalo City Council, also known as the Common Council, is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[1]
The common council is made up of nine members, each of whom is elected by one of the city's nine districts.[1]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials[edit]
Mayoral partisanship[edit]
Buffalo has a Democratic mayor. As of August 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections[edit]
2024[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, is holding general elections for city court judge on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for June 25, 2024. The primary was canceled and the candidates advanced to the general election after only one candidate filed per seat. The filing deadline for the primary was April 4, 2024, and the filing deadline for the general election was May 28, 2024.
2023[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held general elections for city council, comptroller, and city court judge on November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for June 27, 2023.
2022[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held a special election for chief judge of the city court and general elections for city court judges on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was August 11, 2022.
2021[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held general elections for mayor and city court judges on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for June 22, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was April 1, 2021.
2019[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held general elections for comptroller, all nine city council seats, and one city court judge on November 5, 2019. A primary was scheduled for June 25, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was April 4, 2019.
2018[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held general elections for city judge on November 6, 2018. The primary was on September 11, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was July 12, 2018.
2017[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held an election for mayor and two city judges on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on September 12, 2017.
2015[edit]
The city of Buffalo, New York, held elections for city council on November 3, 2015. A primary election took place on September 10, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 23, 2015. All nine city council seats were up for election.
Census information[edit]
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Buffalo | |
|---|---|
| Buffalo | |
| Population | 278,349 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 40 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 46.5% |
| Black/African American | 33.2% |
| Asian | 7.6% |
| Native American | 0.4% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% |
| Two or more | 6.5% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 12.3% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 86.2% |
| College graduation rate | 30% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $46,184 |
| Persons below poverty level | 21.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget[edit]
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The mayor is responsible for proposing the budget to the common council on or before May 1. The common council will hold public hearings to allow for public input in the budget process. The common council must then approve or amend the budget.[3][4]
Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[5]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[6] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[7] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[5]
Buffalo, New York, salaries and pensions over $95,000[edit]
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information[edit]
Mayor's office
65 Niagara Square, Room 201
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: 716-851-4841
City Clerk's office
65 Niagara Square, Room 1308
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: 716-851-5431
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures[edit]
- See also: Erie County, New York ballot measures
The city of Buffalo is in Erie County. A list of ballot measures in Erie County is available here.
Noteworthy events[edit]
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd[edit]
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Buffalo, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Buffalo, New York, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020.[8] The same day, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz (D) instituted a curfew.[8] The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws[edit]
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Buffalo, New York, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[9]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 City of Buffalo, "History," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Buffalo, "Office of the Mayor," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Buffalo, "§ 28-9 Fiscal Year," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Buffalo, "§ 20-3 Mayor's Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 WGRZ, "Peaceful protest turns violent in the City of Buffalo," May 31, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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