Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz offered her first comments of 2026 on the city’s financial situation.

The city of Dunkirk appointed its clerk as the treasurer.

Amy Dobek’s title is now city clerk and treasurer, Mayor Kate Wdowiasz said at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting. The mayor was responding to a question from resident Reva Byczynski, who wondered what happened to the treasurer post after city voters abolished it as an elected position in November.

“I am looking forward to working through the next two years with this council, so welcome (to the) new council,” Wdowiasz said. “This is going to be an adventure, as everyone has seen from the last two years, and I am hoping this transition is smooth for all of you.

“We are … in this next year going to be working diligently together to strengthen and improve the city’s finances, to make sure our house is in order, so our residents have the opportunity to understand more fully what is happening inside City Hall.”

Wdowiasz cited the city government’s recent acquisition of a software system by GovSense. “We’re looking forward to that because it will give the public and the council members better access to all of our records. You will be able to see, in real time, our account balances, what the city is anticipating in revenue, what our expenses are to date.”

The mayor added she is “looking forward to working with the new council in the restructuring of the city’s financial departments. Miss Dobek has been appointed as the city clerk/treasurer and has been working very hard the last two weeks to make sure that both offices are running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

Wdowiasz said she plans to meet with the Common Council’s Finance and Personnel committees “so we can discuss in-depth what the future of those offices will look like, so there is no confusion and there are no issues with how it is established for the future of this city.”