14 hours Ago
BUFFALO, N.Y. — On New Year's Eve, Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon sent a letter to the Buffalo Water Board request-demanding a full accounting of their American Rescue Plan Spending.
It has been alleged by Scanlon's administration that Buffalo Water misused $11 million of its Rescue Plan funds by using them for capital projects instead of a water debt relief program as they were approved for by the Common Council. RELATED: Buffalo Water's misallocation of $11M sparks affordability crisis amidst rising debt Scanlon says a tabletop review of the city's ARPA program that was performed by Drescher and Malecki, LLC when he took office revealed the spending kerfuffle. Buffalo Water Board chair OJ McFoy has maintained that "all American Rescue Plan funds have been spent in full compliance with Federal guidelines.
" One week after the letter was sent to the Water Board. However, it's unknown whether or not the full accounting was actually delivered. A spokesperson for Scanlon told 2 On Your Side on Jan.
3, which was the deadline for Buffalo Water to send in the accounting, that "the [acting] Mayor continues to have conversations with members of the Buffalo Water Board in relation to the letter sent to BWB on Dec. 31, 2024." WGRZ reached out to the Buffalo Water board spokesperson and have not received a response.
After 2 On Your Side highlighted a study about water affordability conducted by the Partnership for the Public Good on January 3, a spokesperson for Veolia North America contacted WGRZ. The spokesperson said if we had any questions about Veolia's work in Buffalo, then we could reach out to them. WGRZ asked whether or not $11 million from the Rescue Plan was misused and if a full accounting of the funds had been sent to city hall.
The spokesperson for Veolia referred us to a spokesperson for the Buffalo Water Board, who has not yet answered our question. The Buffalo Water Board had its regularly scheduled meeting planned for Wednesday morning, but it was postponed due to a "lack of quorum." Current board chair OJ McFoy had previously announced he accepted a position in Houston as a city engineer and was expected to start that role sometime in January.
It's unclear as to whether or not he has left his post as Buffalo Water chair. However, his email address now forwards to a different staff member, and no one at Buffalo Water will confirm if he is gone or not. As of Wednesday night, it's still unknown whether or not Buffalo Water has provided the full accounting of its Rescue Plan spending to city hall.
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