Allegheny County Chief Executive (ACE) Sara Innamorato has proposed a massive property tax increase of 46.5 percent. Inflation, declining office tower valuations and other tax collections, along with the exhaustion of federal pandemic money, are among the things being blamed.
If approved by County Council, a property owner with a home valued at the county’s median value of $110,400 would see taxes increase by about $182 a year. Of course, those with more expensive homes would see far higher tax bills. (One county councilor flippantly noted that renters won’t be receiving a higher tax bill. As if their landlords won’t pass on the additional tax in their rents.)
The tax hike is touted as the way to avoid multimillion-dollar budget deficits moving forward. But it is reckless.
Sadly missing from the ACE’s new budget proposal is much of anything resembling austerity. Spending, already out of control, and some department budgets blown, continues to rise in the next fiscal year.
There’s no talk of a hiring freeze, layoffs or any real belt-tightening.
“The thing to remember is that we cannot cut our way to a balanced budget,” Innamorato says. “We’re not going to drastically cut critical services that the people of this county rely on, and so many people in this county are asking county government to do more.”
But neither can you tax your county back to prosperity, we would remind. And neither can government be given a blank check. As the old saying goes, “Don’t try this at home.”
Innamorato’s proposed tax hike is far from a fait accompli. It appears she does not immediately have the 10 County Council votes necessary for passage on the majority Democrat council.
But we don’t hold out much hope for any meaningful debate as budget hearings bow this month. If the tax hike somehow is marginally whittled, it’s more likely that the council will brag about how much they “saved” taxpayers.
A County Council that, for years and under various iterations, failed the prudence test and became professional spendthrifts has a solemn responsibility to pare the fat that insiders say drips freely from a multibillion-dollar operation.
Reckless government is dangerous government.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
