|
City Comptroller
Andrew A. SanFilippo City Comptroller
A Welcome Message From Comptroller SanFilippo:
Welcome!
Buffalo is known for its cold winters, but the Queen City has much, much more to offer beyond record snowfall. It is the hub of a wonderful Great Lakes region that offers architectural history, four distinctly beautiful seasons, a rich ethnic diversity, the best locally-owned restaurants and shops, hard-working, warm and caring people, major league sports teams and nationally-recognized arts and cultural attractions. Our city’s finances have steadily improved over the last several years and reached a new record level with an undesignated, unreserved fund balance of nearly $110 million on top of a more than $30 million rainy day fund at the end of the 2008-09 fiscal year. What that means is the City’s fiscal prudence has created access to bond financing for everything from infrastructure improvements to soccer fields to the arts – and a consistently improving quality of life for its residents.
As your elected City Comptroller, my role in government is to serve as a good steward of your taxpayer dollars, and monitor the City’s finances through audits and adhering to federal, state and local financial regulations. Our City government is a Mayor-Council-Comptroller model, and the Department of Audit and Control (overseen by the Comptroller) also provides a third of the checks-and-balances system of Buffalo’s local government. I am deeply committed to the well-being of Buffalo’s economic health. While the Mayor and Common Council provide policy leadership and vision, my office works together with these elected officials and all departments at City Hall to continuously improve the financial well-being of the City of Buffalo.
New York State was hit hard in 2001, and the years that followed, by the loss of revenue from the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center. But the City of Buffalo, after slashing its budget to meet the crisis, has rebounded and is now in a very strong financial position. The recovery is a tribute to the vision of the elected leaders of this great city and to the commitment of its workers and citizens to reshaping government for better financial footing.
We have come a long way in just a few short years, and the City of Buffalo’s recovery is an example of the resilience and strength of this community. Whether you are a young, single professional looking for a vibrant nightlife, or a parent looking for a family-minded neighborhood to raise your children, or a traveler looking for a vacation destination that offers parks, concerts, theater, sports, and a short drive to one of the world’s greatest sights, the “Mighty Niagara Falls,” Buffalo has something to offer you.
I look forward to our continued financial success and new job growth linked in part to our world-class medical corridor, downtown development, and a university system that turns out world-famous leaders in research, music, medicine and other professional fields. The near-future in Buffalo holds exciting new beginnings in business, the arts and more sold-out seasons for our beloved Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey team, Buffalo Bisons AAA baseball team, and Buffalo Bills NFL football team, all made possible by Buffalo’s greatest treasure – its people.
I am proud to call Buffalo home and I am honored to serve as Comptroller during this period of new hope and excitement. Go Buffalo!
|
