On Nov. 10, the mayor of Pittsburgh presented the 2026 operating and capital budgets and five-year forecast. This is required by the city’s Home Rule Charter. City Council begins discussion of the budget and hearings Nov. 12.
The 2026 operating result—revenues less expenditures—is $2 million greater than the very slim $485,403 that appeared in the preliminary budget at the end of September. Revenues remain at $680.5 million; expenditures fell from $680 million to $678 million. How did this come about?
In his address to council the mayor stated “Our proposed budget eliminates dozens of vacant positions, some of which had been vacant for years and are no longer necessary, and others that were part of initiatives that we’ve scaled back or did not have adequate time to fully implement. We also cut $3.5 million in non-personnel spending, tightening our belts where appropriate without depriving City departments of the resources they need to serve our residents.”
Comparing 2026 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the preliminary budget to the proposed budget shows six fewer employees, 3,236.77 to 3,230.77. Whether vacant positions show up in the FTE changes (either from preliminary or the approved 2025 budget’s FTE count) is unclear. Looking at FTE employees by department, the 2026 proposed budget shows a decrease of eight employees for council, controller, mayor and public safety administration from the preliminary budget while two employees would be added for public works operations and police.
When taking the departments and comparing spending between the two budgets the biggest drop is for the Department of Human Resources and Civil Service. This department has 38 employees, but the expenditure for retiree health insurance is housed there. The $13.1 million in the proposed budget was $15.1 million two months ago. The department’s budget narrative notes it “Revamped benefits offerings to provide improved benefits/services along with a cost savings for the City” but what specifically was done is not clear. Perhaps this will be made evident at the department’s budget hearing.
Much like we raised the question for Allegheny County Council on its estimated savings in its budget, is this enough for Pittsburgh City Council, or do they want to strive for more? A watered-down proposal that would freeze non-essential spending and hiring for certain departments was floated last month. Does that idea resurface in budget deliberations with broader impact? We have long recommended such an action in order to lower city expenses.
