Dunkirk’s revenues are not keeping up with expenses, which has led to a looming fiscal crisis.

There are growing concerns regarding the fiscal outlook in the city of Dunkirk in the wake of this month’s Finance Committee meeting.

At that meeting March 11, Mayor Kate Wdowiasz sounded the alarm on spending. “Emergency expenditures can’t happen the way they’ve been happening,” she said, later noting that in her opinion, the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding was misspent.

Those comments were a revelation to many, including council members who attended the meeting. But Dunkirk’s apparent woes are not new.

Last July, during a Finance Committee meeting, the city indicated it was having trouble paying the bills. Within two weeks later, Dunkirk’s council approved a $5.5 million loan.

Mark Woods, city treasurer, called the funding necessary due to a cash-flow issue. “We have bills that are due before the revenues come in,” he said. “Those bills need to be paid. So as the revenues come in, we would apply those revenues to repay the loan. It’s a timing issue.”

That may have been the biggest warning sign.

As of today, the situation is so dire that sources say state legislators and the governor’s office have been notified.

Nick Weiser, councilman at-large, said Friday there are likely fiscal shortfalls looming in the very near future. “I want there to be a degree of transparency here that I believe has been lacking,” he said, noting more details will emerge next week. “We’re in this situation and it needs to be addressed.”

Weiser also said he plans to call a special meeting of council on Wednesday to discuss the problems.

Wdowiasz and Weiser are still new to running the city. They have been in office a total of 80 days. Yet the situation is becoming overwhelming.

History was not on their side. As Dunkirk’s spending continued to increase on an annual basis, revenues were becoming harder to come by. Though the city’s population continues to hover around 12,600 residents, budgets have swelled — with the 2024 edition at more than $26 million.

One of the biggest factors in revenues over the last decade involves the former NRG power generating station. In 2014, the city received $4 million in payments in lieu of taxes. Once the plant was shuttered, transition aid from the state to ease the pain was offered.

Starting in 2023, that cash went away.

Like other municipalities, Dunkirk received a cushion of sorts from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Those funds totalled more than $11 million and were included in the city revenues through 2023. As of this year, those funds went away.

This has led to the current worries.

Earlier this week, another indication of fiscal trouble came during a Chautauqua County Legislature Audit and Control meeting. The city asked for additional assistance in covering the cost of removing old docks on the waterfront.

Members were asked to use $50,000 from the county’s occupancy tax reserve funds to pay for the damaged steel dock structures from the Dunkirk Harbor. Those funds are generated from money collected at county motels, hotels and short term rentals.

Those funds are expected to be approved later this week by the County Legislature.

Greg Bacon and M.J. Stafford contributed to this article.