Budget Authorizing Legislation

Res. 217 of 2026

Resolution making appropriations to pay the expenses of conducting the public business of the City of Pittsburgh and for meeting the debt charges thereof for the Fiscal Year beginning January 1, 2026. Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows: Section 1. The revenues of the City of Pittsburgh derived from taxes and other sources for the Fiscal Year beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2026, as well as the unassigned and unrestricted general fund balance on hand at the close of business on December 31, 2025, are hereby appropriated in the general fund the sum of Seven Hundred Twenty-One Million Eight Hundred Thirty One Thousand, Six Hundred Twenty Three Dollars ($721,831,623) Seven Hundred Twenty-One Million Five Hundred Twenty-One Thousand, Eight Hundred Fifty- Eight Dollars ($721,521,858) to pay the expenses of conducting the public business of the City of Pittsburgh during the period beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2026. Section 2. The City Controller, the City Treasurer, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are authorized to transfer a total of Twenty-One Million Dollars ($21,000,000) from the general fund to a PAYGO fund for use in the 2026 Capital Budget. Section 3. All encumbrances and obligations incurred prior to January 1, 2026 for which services have been rendered or supplies, materials or equipment actually delivered on or prior to December 31, 2025 and so reported to the City Controller shall be charged to the proper 2025 appropriation accounts against which encumbrances have been originally charged. Said encumbrances shall either be paid or cleared by the City Controller per the City’s encumbrance policy. Section 4. No liability shall be incurred against any appropriation line item in excess of the budgeted amount, with the exception of payroll and benefits as required by collective bargaining agreements and applicable laws. Section 5. No obligation shall be incurred by any Department, Office, or Bureau of the City Government other than for salaries or wages, except through the issue of an invoice, stating the service to be rendered, work performed, or supplies, materials or equipment to be furnished together with the estimated cost of the same. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized to provide upon requisition by the head of any department all necessary supplies, materials, equipment and machinery for such department; provided, however, that no requisition of any department shall be filled by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in excess of the appropriation budgeted to the department. Section 6. Council may, by resolution, restrict expenditures from the appropriations made herein, both as to amounts of expenditures, reasons for expenditures, and the periods within which expenditures may be made. Section 7. Pursuant to Article V, Section 507 of the Home Rule Charter, Council may amend by resolution the operating budget within five weeks of the beginning of the 2026 fiscal year, but not thereafter except with the approval of the Mayor. Council at all times may transfer funds from one account to another if the total budget amount is not exceeded. This operating budget shall, in any event, remain balanced at all times. Section 8. Pursuant to Title Two, Article I, Chapter 219, Section 219.02 “Five-Year Plan,” this appropriation budget also includes a five-year plan which consists of the budgetary years 2026-2030 and a projection for revenues, expenditures, operating results, and fund balances. Section 9. For purposes of administration and account control, the account numbers indicated herein shall be considered as part of the appropriation titles. Section 10. The appropriations related to grants, trust funds, and special revenue funds contained in this budget document shall be used as a guide. The revenues and expenditures of City accounts other than the general operating budget are authorized by their enabling legislation.

Section 11. The City Council Budget Director is authorized to make minor technical and formatting changes to the budget document as needed. No changes shall change the funding of any department or bureau, or otherwise be substantive in nature. Section 12. It is Council’s determination that the present financial circumstances of the City necessitate changes to the November proposed budget in excess of two (2) percent, thus justifying a waiver of the “general rule” discouraging amendments of this scale in Code Section 219.03 “Collaborative Budgeting Process.” The Council asserts the following conditions as evidence that changes larger than two (2) percent are appropriate:

• Strenuous, well-documented concerns about the November proposal voiced by a myriad of officials and actors, including but not limited to:
• Dec. 9 Will of Council 2025-2637, which called on the Mayor’s Administration to fix and/or work collaboratively with Council to seriously amend the November budget;
• Changes to Council budget approval schedule, including Dec. 9 Agency Conference and Executive Session on Personnel Implications, delayed Line-Item Vote, and Special Standing Committees and Regular Meeting sessions on Sunday, December 21;
• Controller Heisler’s official statements following Council Post-Agenda on options for raising revenue (Nov. 7) and release of preliminary September budget (Oct. 1), which is nearly identical to the November budget;
• Council Budget Office’s Nov. 12 response to Mayor Gainey’s Budget Address, outlining major areas of concern;
• Council Finance Chair Strassburger’s Nov. 14 letter, re-iterating Controller and Budget Office’s concerns and asserting (among other things) that “we are in a budget crisis right now”;
• Widespread media coverage and scrutiny of September and November budget proposals.
• The introduction of Council Bill 2025-2632, which proposes the first Real Estate millage increase in more than a decade; additional revenues generated by the adoption of Bill 2025-2632 are intended to cover the costs of higher expenditures, including those that exceed the two (2) percent threshold;
• The disposition of National Hockey League Players Association v. City of Pittsburgh (2025), which struck down Pittsburgh's Facility Usage Fee as unconstitutional; this decision not only deprived the City of future revenues, but also created the need to prepare for potential refunds to members of the plaintiff class that could quickly reach into the millions of dollars;
• The significant likelihood that the City will end 2025 with an operating deficit, which if repeated in 2026 and 2027 would trigger Act 47 oversight;
• Drastic reductions in the City property tax base since early-2024 and unpredictability in the timing of a County reassessment;
• Ongoing turmoil and uncertainty resulting from chaotic national tariff policies, exacerbating construction supply- chain issues that have driven up costs of infrastructure and facilities maintenance projects more than 40% over the past five years (well outpacing overall inflation).

Res. 215 of 2026

Resolution amending Resolution 838 of 2025, which fixed the number of officers and employees of the City of Pittsburgh for the 2026 fiscal year, and the rate of compensation thereof, and set maximum levels for designated positions, by eliminating one District Division Chief and adding one Assistant Chief in the Department of Public Safety Bureau of Emergency Medical Services. Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows: Section 1. From and after January 1, 2026, the number of officers and employees of all General Fund Departments, Bureaus, and Offices of the City of Pittsburgh, and the rate of compensation thereof, are hereby

Section 5. The maximum levels are established for the following positions: Department of Public Safety Bureau of Emergency Medical Services 2026 Account 220000.51101

Section 6. The maximum levels of staffing in Sections 3, 4, and 5 may be temporarily exceeded to account for differences in timing between anticipated attrition and recruitment or training cycles. If the graduation of a recruit class results in a temporary exceedance, the size of the subsequent class shall be reduced accordingly. Section 7. The maximum levels of staffing for all other officers and employees of all other General Fund departments and bureaus of the City and the rate of compensation thereof are hereby set in the budget document as follows. Section 8. The maximum levels of staffing for all other officers and employees of all grant programs, trust funds, and special revenue funds of the City and the rate of compensation thereof in the budget document shall be used as a guide. Said staffing may be authorized by separate legislation or external funding agreements. Section 9. Pursuant to Section 507 of the Home Rule Charter, Council may amend by resolution this operating budget within five weeks of the start of the 2026 Fiscal Year, but not thereafter except with the approval of the Mayor. Council at all times may by resolution transfer funds from one account to another if the total budget amount is not exceeded. The operating budget shall, in any event, remain balanced at all times. Section 10. Any and all changes to the rate of compensation of employees as defined in this official budget document, known as the annual resolution, during its effective period shall be prohibited, except as provided for in Article V of the Pittsburgh Charter and Chapter 111 of the City Code. Section 11. The City Council Budget Director is authorized to make minor technical and formatting changes to the budget as needed. No changes shall affect any salaries or staffing levels, or otherwise be substantive in nature.