No Tax Hikes In 2009 Pittsburgh City Budget

No Major Cuts, No Layoffs Planned For Next Year

POSTED: 12:18 pm EDT September 23, 2008
UPDATED: 6:53 pm EDT September 23, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- The mayor's office released Pittsburgh's 2009 budget on Tuesday.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's budget for next year, and the five year projections for the city's financial health, shows no tax increases, no new borrowing, no layoffs or service cuts. But it does acknowledge that things will get tighter in outer edges of that five year plan.

The mayor's team stepped up to brief reporters on the proposed $440 million city budget.

Yarone Zober, the mayor's Chief of Staff , said Ravenstahl is "under the weather" and has a fever.

"What mayor Ravenstahl doesn't cut corners on are things like crime, safety, paving streets, taking care of our neighborhoods. The sorts of things that City of Pittsburgh residents need, deserve and ask for," said Zober.

The city budget eliminates 65 vacant jobs through attrition and moves more than three dozen police from desk jobs to crime-fighting.

"We're going to be civilianizing those next year, so Ravenstahl is putting 40 new officers on the street without adding 40 new officers worth of money into the budget," Zober said.

The plan shows city cash reserves hitting more than $93 million next year, better than planned. But it also says that in three years the city will again start spending more than it takes in, eating into the savings.

"We must learn from our past mistakes of relying on our savings account to cover revenue shortfalls," council finance chairman Bill Peduto said.

Peduto claims the budget doesn't commit to significant changes or consolidating city and county services.

"While we're doing good on debt, we're doing good on operating generally, the pension obligations can eat this city alive," said city council president Doug Shields.

"The first thing I noticed, the first thing I looked for is that the mayor fulfilled the pledge of committing an additional 15 percent to our pension obligation," Councilman Patrick Dowd said.

The oversight board has 30 days to accept or reject the mayor's spending plan. After that, it goes to the Pittsburgh City Council.

The city remains under state financial oversight as part of the Act 47 five-year recovery plan. On Tuesday, Pittsburgh leaders also released projected fund balances and expenditures, which they said are exceeding the expectations of the plan.

To see a .pdf file of the projected budget charts, click here.

Related Links: