MAXWELL SCHOOL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS CITY MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES; REFLECTS PROBLEMS AND PROGRESS
January 29, 2000
Contact: Peter K. Cutler (716) 851-4841

BUFFALO (1/30/00) - The Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs' study of thirty-five municipalities, the Government Performance Project (GPP), has concluded that the City of Buffalo, while making progress in certain areas of municipal management, has difficult challenges not yet overcome. The GPP report, which gave the city an overall grade of C-, will be published in the February issue of Governing magazine.

"I am not pleased with the grade given the city," stated Mayor Masiello. "A C- does not reflect the overall analysis, which clearly states that progress has been made in the various management areas we control, that the impact our new City Charter will have on improving city government has not yet been realized and the fact that many of our problems are directly related to state mandates imposed on us from Albany."

The mayor continued, "The GPP report confirms my belief that when we are allowed to control what we are responsible for managing, the city does a good job. We're working constantly to convince Albany that Buffalo needs greater management controls."

The report confirms, "The biggest long-term problems may be ones imposed by the state of New York. State labor laws constrain Buffalo's ability to control salaries and pensions for uniformed workers…The city is saddled with archaic disciplinary laws that require extensive hearings before any action is taken [with problem civil service workers]."

"Had the study included Buffalo's upstate peer cities, the plight of Upstate New York municipalities would have provided further evidence of the need for legislative relief from state mandates such as the Taylor Law, which has hurt our city repeatedly as a result of binding arbitration decisions," noted Mayor Masiello. "This study has confirmed what my administration has argued for the past six years: unless certain state mandates are relaxed or removed, the competitiveness of Buffalo and other cities across New York State is compromised. I will bring this report with me when meeting with the Governor and the State Legislature in Albany and illustrate for the Governor and the legislative leaders the continuing negative impact of state mandates, especially those related to civil service, pensions and labor contracts."

The GPP report, while grading the city at C-, found several areas of encouragement and prospective positive change. The recently passed City Charter and the new county government were highlighted as signs that all is not gloomy in Buffalo. Indeed, the areas that the city has direct control over were generally praised.

The report cites Mayor Masiello for emphasizing citizen participation in civic issues and noted that the Mayor's emphasis on concerted and coordinated strategic planning can only help the city's future. The report neglected to cite the Downtown Strategic Plan (Downtown Buffalo 2002!), which the Mayor recently introduced as the first released component of the soon-to-be completed City Master Plan.

"Since taking office, I have moved aggressively to address the various challenges before Buffalo," said the Mayor. "We now have a new City Charter, revised for the first time in 70 years. We have introduced our Downtown Strategic Plan and will soon unveil the completed Master Plan. The restructuring of the city's Permit Office will only enhance future development activities throughout the city. I am encouraged that after years of trying, last year we successfully convinced the State Legislature and the Governor to revise the State Building Code, which will have an immense impact on our ability to redevelop existing buildings throughout the city."

The Mayor was gratified that the report's analysis of the city concluded with the positive assessment that, despite problems that need solutions, "…momentum for improvement is powerful here."

"To me, the GPP report confirms that positive changes are occurring, yet there is more work ahead," stated the Mayor. "I remain as committed as ever to making Buffalo the greatest city of its size in the nation. I call upon the members of the Common Council, County Executive Joel Giambra, the County Legislature, the State Legislature and Governor Pataki to work with us and enable municipalities such as Buffalo to achieve greater prosperity and renewed strength."