WBFO NPR - Open government group asks court to void Buffalo officials’ ‘illegal’ raises

Last summer, the Buffalo Common Council voted 5-3 to raise salaries for themselves, the mayor, board of education members and the city comptroller.

Now, a government transparency group is asking a judge to void those raises.

In a petition filed in State Supreme Court last week, the New York Coalition for Open Government argued that city officials repeatedly violated city and state law to illegally approve pay raises that would cost taxpayers an additional $200,000 per year.

“We haven’t taken a position on whether the amount of the raises is appropriate or not, but we do take the position that following the city charter matters, following the council rules matters, following the Open Meetings Law matters,” Paul Wolf, the president of the Coalition for Open Government and counsel in the case, said. “While we all would love to raise our own pay, you’ve at least got to follow the law and the rules when doing so.”