Buffalo’s top fiscal watchdog says the city has to find a better way of paying for emergency demolitions.

The city has been borrowing money for the tear downs, by issuing bonds, but City Comptroller Mark Schroeder contends the fees and interest charges are incurring unnecessary expenses, and he is stopping the practice.

Emergency demolitions in Buffalo are usually ordered by the Fire Department, to protect the public from buildings that have been dangerously damaged or destroyed.

“If the fire commissioner goes out and he deems it an emergency demo,” said James Comerford, the city’s Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services, “we have to go out and get it down immediately. because it is a hazard to public safety.”

Comerford said there is a dedicated fund to pay for the emergency demolitions which comes from the sale of bonds, a practice that has been in place for close to 30 years. Comerford is asking for a $1 million bond issue to cover the demolitions in next year’s budget.

But Schroeder said the interest charges on the demolition bonds has amounted to more than $2.5 million in the last 6 years, and the cost could be avoided by paying for the emergency demolitions directly from a line item in the budget.

“The City of Buffalo has essentially wasted nearly $3 million of taxpayer money on doing something that is not best practices.”

Schroeder said, he has consulted with accounting firms, the city’s control board, and its bond counsel, who agree the most efficient way of covering emergency demolition costs is moving it from the capital budget to operational expenditures.

But Comerford insists bonding is a better way, “We are talking about public health and safety, you cannot compromise that. If a house needs to be down, and you are protecting life and safety issues, you have to get it down.”

Schroeder said it is a matter of spending priorities, moving money from other parts of the city budget to fund the demolitions. The Common Council has until December 15 to decide which course to take.