Today In City Hall
November 16, 2012 8:00AM BUFFALO NEWS POLITICS NOW Written By Jill Terreri
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Good morning,
Today in City Hall, Mayor Byron W. Brown’s CitiStat team – which includes himself, Deputy Mayor Steve Casey, Corporation Counsel Tim Ball and Commissioner of Finance, Policy and Urban Affairs Janet Penska – are set to question Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer.
Helfer’s department was the subject of a recent audit by City Comptroller Mark J.F. Schroeder, which found that 89 percent of the city’s towing business is going to one company. It’s not clear whether the audit will be a subject of the CitiStat meeting.
In other business, behind the scenes, negotiations are ongoing over the city’s $21 million capital budget. The budget was supposed to be discussed by the Common Council on Thursday, but attendance by Council members was light, and department heads weren’t told that they should be there, so it was quickly adjourned and rescheduled for Tuesday immediately following the Council’s Finance Committee meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. The budget discussion will take place in Room 1417 of City Hall.
Also today, at 11 a.m., a ribbon-cutting will be held on an energy-efficient home for a low-income family on Riverside Avenue, a project of the Learning Disabilities Association of Western New York and Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. The home is part of the groups’ Stable Homes pilot program, which provides individuals with developmental disabilities with sustainable housing. Three homes have been completed and 27 more are funded.
At 2 p.m., a kick-off of the holiday shopping season will take place at the Broadway Market, 999 Broadway. Brown, Council President Richard A. Fontana and Council Member David A. Franczyk will be on hand. The market’s 125th anniversary is approaching.