Allegheny County Council committee passes amendment to lower property tax proposal
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Council is now weighing the idea of a smaller property tax hike for next year.
This comes after several members indicated that they were already going to reject Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato's plan.
Innamorato unveiled the proposal and it included a property tax increase of more than 45 percent. It would have been the county's first property tax increase in 12 years. A 2.2 millage hike means property taxes on a home assessed at $110,000 would increase by $182 a year.
On Tuesday night, a committee voted to cut Innamorato's proposal by roughly half. They say they can cut the tax increase almost in half without mass layoffs or cuts in services.
"It's not the sky is falling scenario that we've been told for the past month and a half now," said Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena.
On Tuesday night, Council's budget committee recommended a series of across-the-board cuts which would result in reducing the proposed property tax increase from 2.2 to 1.35 mills. The proposal demands belt tightening in all departments and reduces payments into the county's rainy day fund by $28 million. It also slashes a proposed $4 million increase to the Department of Human Services, which would have increased to $17 million with state matching dollars.
But Catena said the county simply can't afford it.
"In my council district, they told me that when people are living paycheck to paycheck, they don't have enough money to pay bills now. How can they afford a 50 percent tax increase?" Catena said.
Innamorato says for years the county has spent more than it takes in and faces increased operational costs at a time when property assessments have tanked Downtown. Her spokesperson, Abigail Gardner, says the administration is reviewing the proposal to see if it can meet expenses.
"I think it's a good step forward in negotiations. Now we have something that we can sit down and talk about and try to find more compromise before the budget is passed," Gardner said.
But Catena is already hearing from constituents that the cuts don't go deep enough, though he believes they can't go much deeper.
"If we went deeper we'd probably have to look at layoffs and such. I don't want to lay off county employees and I don't want to cut county programs," he said.
Now there will be talks between council members and the administration on whether to make revisions to this budget amendment or keep it intact. It's expected to go up for a full council vote in the next two weeks.
County council has pushed back on budget
Even prior to Tuesday night's vote, the pushback to Innamorato's budget was already well underway.
Multiple council members confirmed to KDKA-TV on earlier this month that there were not enough votes to push the proposed tax increase through.
According to multiple council members, there was a straw poll at Allegheny County Council over the current 2.2 mill increase, and there were not enough votes to support it.
"I feel this is a terrible time to try to hammer the taxpayers of Allegheny County with a 46.5 half percent tax increase," said Republican Sam DeMarco. "I think that is outrageous. These people are already being hammered with inflation, higher grocery prices, higher gas prices."
Despite the pushback, Innamorato and others remained steadfast in their proposal.
"Together, these investments represent not just a budget proposal, but a vision for a stronger and safer Allegheny County," Innamorato said. "This budget reflects our commitment to safeguarding every single resident, every first responder, and every community, no matter the size or resources that they have."
