From the Buffalo News: "Mayor Byron W. Brown’s 2015-16 budget proposal will hold the line on residential property taxes and cut the city’s commercial tax rate, but also increase some fees and create a new one to help deal with vacant properties. The budget plan being released Friday will include new initiatives aimed at helping to clear snow from the sidewalks of city-owned properties and focus on cutting lawns on thousands of city-owned lots. The total budget proposal comes in at $493 million – down $11 million, or 2.2 percent, from the current fiscal year." Also from the article: "• Sidewalk snow removal. The city will hire private contractors to help with the sidewalk snow removal on city properties. The focus will be on city-owned property on bus routes and high-pedestrian areas. “We have mapped those areas that get the most pedestrian traffic, where we receive the most calls over the years,” the mayor said." Read the rest here: http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/buffalo/buffalo-mayor-proposes-budget-that-again-holds-line-on-taxes-20150430