The Allegheny Institute is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government. To that end, we will formulate and advocate public policies that roll back the size and scope of local government as well as create a more accountable government. Our efforts will be guided by the principles of free enterprise, property rights, civil society and individual freedom that are the bedrock upon which this nation was founded.
Allegheny County’s 2027 Comprehensive Fiscal Plan (Plan) was introduced on Oct. 6. Concurrently, the issues of a reassessment and pension reform are under court supervision and the once-a-decade Government Review Commission meets. This Policy Brief revisits recommendations made for the county in 2023.
Previous Policy Briefs have delved into the high office vacancy rate in Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle, largely the result of the pandemic. The loss of revenue for office building owners caused them to seek a reduction to their assessed values which, in turn, caused property tax revenue to fall for all three taxing bodies; it became the primary excuse for both the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to raise property tax millages in the last couple of years. As had been mentioned in those Briefs, this isn’t just a Pittsburgh problem but one that has extended well into the city’s suburbs. However, the suburban market appears to be rebounding in 2026.
There’s lots of happy talk surrounding next month’s return of a second daily Amtrak Pennsylvanian passenger train that will run between Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and New York City.
Keystone State residents will get the train service they deserve, goes one line of chit-chat. It will promote tourism in Pennsylvania, if not general economic development, goes another. Still others cite the simple convenience of having that second daily Pennsylvanian in service.
And then there’s the rationale that the addition somehow cements Pennsylvania’s reputation as the train capital of the United States.
But a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says obvious questions are not being broached or answered.
Allegheny County Council could vote as soon as Oct. 20 on a compromise paid parental leave plan that a local think tank researcher says not only will be among the most generous in the nation but also have the potential to seriously damage the local economy.
