BUFFALO, N.Y. — As the deadline to allocate American Relief Plan (ARP) funds approaches on Dec. 31, the Buffalo Common Council voted ‘yes’ to make a last-minute amendment to the funding, meaning the City of Buffalo will keep the remaining $19 million.

The money was meant to support state and local governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision brings frustration for organizations who were promised ARP funding and did not receive the total amount promised by the city.

Buffalo Water also received $11 million believed by the council to be for debt relief, however, the money was used by the company for infrastructure reinforcement.

“For those dollars not to go to those organizations like they were promised speaks to the negligence of this city, of this administration, and how because we make a mistake, others suffer, and that shouldn’t be," said Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt.

A review of funding allocation was conducted over several weeks, however the acting commissioner of finance for the City of Buffalo said there is no documentation of that review, which was not paid for by the city and was a voluntary audit.

One big contention for those who voted against the amendment was that many organizations made decisions based on the funding they were originally promised.

The vote to amend funding was fueled by the fact that voting ‘no’ would mean that at the end of the year, the remaining funds will be returned to the federal government.

There is an anticipated budget deficit but that exact number is currently unclear. 

Council members who voted ‘yes’ stressed that time was not on their side while making this decision, and with a new administration coming into the White House, the $19 million is significant for Buffalo, a blue city in a blue state.