Proposed property tax increase in Allegheny County does not have enough support among council members
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Council and County Executive Sara Innamorato are continuing to debate over a proposed property tax increase.
Multiple council members confirmed to KDKA-TV on Thursday that there are not enough votes right now 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.
The proposal would need 10 members in favor. Council members like Sam DeMarco said an increase probably will happen but it's necessary to see what can be cut from the budget.
"There are a number of other programs out there that I know that folks — and I appreciate — that they think they are worthy, they help people, but these are not core county services," he said over Zoom.
Allegheny County Manager John Fournier met with the members on Wednesday night. He said the county executive feels the tax increase is needed to prevent any cuts to services.
"We provide human services to the Allegheny County residents who directly need them, and it's the biggest part of our budget," Fournier said.
Other council members agree that they don't want any service cuts or layoffs but admit a 2.2 mill increase is not going to work. Ideas being tossed around include job freezes or seeing the minimum funding departments need to get the job done.
The council wants to minimize any tax hike.
"Hopefully that can move things forward by letting the administration know that we are not going to pass a 2.2 mill increase," DeMarco said.
Other concerns preventing support for the 2.2 mills are municipalities and schools raising taxes and at some point a possible reassessment.
Fournier said talks will continue about getting a budget done. He feels there has been progress and hopes to get the full support needed to get the budget across the finish line.
"Two-point-two is what we need to prevent major cuts to really vital services to Allegheny County residents and families," Fournier said.
Ultimately, some sort of agreement has to be reached by the end of the year, which is when the budget is due.
