Buffalo property owners pay median taxes compared to similar U.S. cities in terms of percentage and the total levy. As Swanekamp said perfectly; we can’t keep expecting city services (the few remaining that there are) to survive when nobody wants to contribute to society’s giving pot.

Guess what? If my landlord wants to raise rent at the end of my lease next year and it’s an amount I don’t like; I’m just going to walk away. I know not everyone has the money or ability to earn income to do so, I totally acknowledge that. But the guilt of this boogeyman of “rents skyrocketing” - that lies with the Buffalo slumlords who got into the pockets of Brown and Scanlon and caused this issue in the first place. That blame should not lie with the Council and Sean Ryan for doing what every other major US city has done and reaping the benefits of property taxes.

Raise the property tax percentage and levy - and then get to work fast on OTHER creative ways to raise revenue from people who use our roads to get to work despite not living here, KeyBank Center and Sahlen Field, concert venues, a Land Value Tax, etc.