Pittsburgh City Council tweaks mayor's budget proposal, to vote on spending plan next week

Pittsburgh City Council advanced a package of budget-related legislation Wednesday after tweaking the spending plan proposed by the mayor, including more than doubling a would-be pay raise for council members.

The proposed 2024 budget includes no tax increase, though City Council Budget Director Peter McDevitt has said that the city may have to consider raising taxes in future years as pandemic relief money dries up.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey — who introduced his proposed operating and capital budgets last month — said he hoped to use the budget to improve core city services and make the city safer and more welcoming for residents.

The proposed budget includes a 300% spending increase on maintenance of city-owned bridges, which has been a priority since the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in the city’s Frick Park in the first weeks of Gainey’s administration.

Related:

• Gainey says his budget proposal would improve Pittsburgh's core services, make city safer

• Gainey's proposed Pittsburgh 2024 budgets include no tax increases

• Pittsburgh might need to consider raising taxes after pandemic relief money dries up, officials say

The proposed budget also includes more than $86.4 million for engineering and construction projects, including more than a dozen bridge projects. The capital budget doesn’t include new projects, but aims to help the city catch up on a backlog of existing projects and fill funding gaps in initiatives that are in the pipeline, officials said.

Also included in the budget proposal is a 136% increase in funding for traffic calming projects and money for 20 more positions in the Office of Community Health and Safety and a dozen new civilian community service aides in the police bureau. It also sets aside money for 850 uniformed police officers, down from 900 officers budgeted for this year but more than it actually has now.

Council has made several amendments to the budget, including to increase their own pay raises. The mayor’s initial proposal included a 3% raise for council members, but they amended the budget to allow for a 7.1% raise.

Council is expected to take a final vote on the budget next week.