Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey releases revenue projects for the next five years
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — For months, Pittsburgh leaders have sounded alarms about a possible financial crisis for city government.
On Thursday, Mayor Ed Gainey and his office released their revenue projects for the next five years.
Mayor Gainey said there are some tough years ahead for the city's finances, but he believes the sky is not falling when it comes to the city's revenue for the next few years.
Going into next year, the city is expected to lose about 5.6% in revenue. The mayor's office said that's in part due to the American Rescue Plan money going away. But for the remaining years of 2026-29, there are expected to be gains of around 1.6% each year.
So far, no jobs are expected to be cut.
"We will continue to monitor the budget. And if everything continues to go as we forecast, we don't see that," Mayor Gainey said.
A source of revenue that continues to take a hit is the Downtown real estate tax. Continued reassessments are expected to present a challenge as they are expected to decline, but city leaders said other revenues are expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
"Residents of the city should be confident that we will be able to continue to provide high-quality city services without drastic cuts or reductions in their quality," Deputy Mayor Jake Pawak said.
The "jock tax" has brought $70 million to the city and was challenged in court to be unconstitutional. With the city appealing to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, it can continue to collect on that for the time being.
"We'll continue to collect it for the foreseeable future because we are confident in winning that case," Deputy Mayor Pawlak said.
In a statement, Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler says she's grateful the mayor heeded her concerns. Her office has been outspoken about future financial concerns.
She went on to say the administration's numbers appear to be more conservative than she estimated. Mayor Gainey said the average resident shouldn't see any difference in how the city operates.
"As long as the residents see that, then that's what they want to see," Mayor Gainey said.
These numbers come ahead of Mayor Gainey's proposed budget, which must be released by the end of September.
