Mayor Ed Gainey makes case for 2023 proposed budget
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Mayor Ed Gainey addressed his budget for 2023 with the Pittsburgh City Council on Monday. His biggest goals, he said, are to make city services work better and more efficiently for residents.
This is the first budget proposal by Mayor Gainey. He said former Mayor Bill Peduto's administration did a good job in getting the city's books balanced. It's now his team's job to get city services working for the people, he said.
A focus on making the city a welcoming, safe, and place to thrive is the goal of his budget.
"The problems we have working together, we can turn into a promise of a better tomorrow. That's why we get up every day to do this job," Gainey said.
He calls for $657 million in the operating budget and $147 million in the capital budget. In the operating budget, public works have more than $27 million going to operations, up almost $6 million from last year.
"To dramatically increase our capacity to respond to snowstorms and overcome a backlog of vacant lots and public spaces in the summer," Mayor Gainey said.
He calls for continued investment in infrastructure. After the collapse at Fern Hollow, he created a bridge maintenance unit.
"We have aging infrastructure all across our city. To ensure our city is safe, infrastructure is one of those important things that has been deferred over the years," City Councilman and Council Finance Chair Dan Lavelle said.
With public safety, police see about a $3.5 million increase, fire more than $400,000, and EMS about a $600,000 decrease. The mayor's budget calls for a trauma response team to help at community or group violence scenes.
"That's a fundamental dimension of co-response. Ensuring we have trained non-law enforcement personnel addressing the needs of the communities affected," Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said.
Other headlines include moving $3 million in American Rescue Plan funds from the land bank to address food insecurity.
Mayor Gainey also called for the moving of some services. He proposed moving 311 to the mayor's office and other entities like the print shop, and city TV channel to the communications team in his office.
Pittsburgh City Council will start discussing the budget at its meeting on Wednesday. It has to approve a budget before the end of the year.