BUFFALO, N.Y. -- There are a lot of questions about the city of Buffalo's financial health.

Some local leaders have suggested the city could face budget deficits exceeding $40 million to 50 million. But while announcing his upcoming resignation, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the projection was closer to $25 million.

"I think there's some confusion," Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority Secretary Fred Floss said. "Part of that may be on our fault."

Floss said the actual projected deficit in this year's budget is $10 million to 15 million. However, because the city is relying on some speculative revenue sources, like state funding connected to Seneca Casino gaming, the control board asked the city to develop a "gap plan."

"No one is saying it will be $40 million. What we're saying is in the worst case scenario, it could be $40 million and we want you to plan for that number now when we're not worried, while we can rationally talk about putting steps in place to make sure that we'll have a balanced budget," Floss said.

Brown's administration has received some criticism for being too reliant on these types of income streams, however, Floss said in many cases, it's fair to expect the money to materialize but predicting when that will happen is more difficult. He said a gap plan can address those issues.

"Examples of that are maybe not filling vacancies right away, maybe not buying certain pieces of equipment right away until we know we have the money," Floss said.

He said it's delicate balance between being too aggressive and too conservative when it comes to city budgeting.

"The other thing that we have to be careful about is not putting everything in as zero because we want to be conservative and therefore cutting services, therefore not replacing equipment and doing things that are prudent," Floss said.

The state created the control board to oversee city finances in 2003, before Brown became mayor, and had control to restrict city spending until it went soft in 2012 as the outlook improved. While the city was facing projected deficits in the tens of millions two decades ago, Floss says it also could not legally raise taxes any more.

That's not the case currently.

"We can raise property taxes in the city and that may have to happen in the next few years to make sure that we have the services that everybody deserves," Floss said.

When Spectrum News 1 asked the governor's office it it will consider assisting Buffalo with potential early year budget gaps a spokesperson sent a statement:

"Since taking office, Governor Hochul has invested more than $2 billion to support housing, transportation, education and public safety in the City of Buffalo. Governor Hochul looks forward to a productive working relationship with Acting Mayor Scanlon and the City of Buffalo leadership, just as she had with Mayor Brown, as we continue working together to help Buffalo thrive."