On Dec. 21, Pittsburgh City Council approved a 20 percent property tax increase in a 6-2 vote (one absent). The millage rate would rise from 8.06 to 9.67 mills and is expected to bring in an additional $28.3 million. This will be the first millage increase since 2015 – outside of the 0.5 mill parks tax approved by voters in 2019 – and would cost a household assessed at $100,000 in the city an extra $161 a year.
The increase accompanies an approved $693 million operating budget and $110 million capital budget after both the controller and council raised concerns about the mayor’s budget ($678 million operating and $100.9 million capital) as presented on Nov. 10. They said it failed to adequately account for public safety overtime and utility costs while only making meager investments into the city’s aging fleet – meaning more costly repairs in the short-term. As such, City Council had been weighing various options to increase revenues, cut spending or some combination of each to balance the budget.
Ultimately, the approved operating budget includes an additional $6.5 million allocation for utility payments, an extra $8 million for fire and EMS overtime costs and $10 million more for the city’s fleet. The main “cut” was halving the annual $10 million general fund transfer to the “Stop the Violence” trust fund with the remaining funds being reallocated for one year.
Those in support of the millage increase and budget believed the millage increase was a necessary evil to avoid major cuts in services and pay the city’s bills. Those opposed believed the council needed to shoulder more responsibility and look to curb spending before asking taxpayers to hand over more money. It’s worth noting that the city’s tax hike follows a 2 percent millage increase (10.25 to 10.457 mills) by Pittsburgh Public Schools for 2026 and the 36 percent millage increase (4.73 to 6.43 mills) by Allegheny County last year.
The mayor indicated he will allow the budget to become law without his signature. City Council had initially scheduled an 11 p.m. meeting for Dec. 31 to override a mayoral veto if necessary to comply with the year-end deadline to pass a budget. A news article cited a statement by the controller “decrying the 11th-hour scramble to complete the budget by a Dec. 31 deadline.” She stated that city officials “‘could have, and should have, spent much more time communicating honestly with the public about the cost of essential city services’ and presented ‘a clear, consistent plan for cost containment — not a hodgepodge of one-year haircuts to get us through this single moment.’”
The Allegheny Institute’s most recent benchmark report showed Pittsburgh’s total revenues, tax revenues and total expenditures per capita were all nearly 40 percent higher than the benchmark city. A further tax-and-spending increase will only exacerbate the financial burden on residents and businesses while further impeding much-needed economic growth.
City of Pittsburgh taxpayers deserve transparency and proper financial stewardship – not the lump of coal they were handed.
