PITTSBURGH (PTTP) – Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor has sounded the alarm on a $30 to $40 million budget deficit.
The 2026 budget, inherited from former Mayor Ed Gainey, has not been free from controversy. The City Council already increased property taxes by 20% in order to pass the legislation back in December. Now, as Mayor O’Connor settles into his new position, he announced there is more work to be done.
According to the O’Connor Administration, the current budget omits or underestimates the costs of various projects around the city. The Pittsburgh City Council held a Special Meeting of the Committee on Finance and Law this past Tuesday to discuss O’Connor’s plans. Here, the current Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rea Price, led a presentation on the main points of an 80+ amendment plan. The new budget would add $28 million in expenditures, as it allots more money towards healthcare, public works projects, vehicles, and city repairs. $6.5 million would be taken from the City’s reserve funds to balance this budget.
During this meeting, O’Connor’s Chief of Staff, Dan Gilman, noted that the City has to focus on both long-term and short-term financial planning. “If we want to have those assets… we’ve got to make those tough decisions.”
While preliminary votes will take place during the next meeting of the Committee on Hearings and Policy on Apr. 8, the budget will remain open until after a public hearing scheduled for Apr. 14.