Pittsburgh Public Schools taxes going up

Pittsburgh Public Schools property taxes will be going up, but the planned increase is half the 2.3% hike initially sought.

The new rate of 9.95 mills was approved by a 6-3 vote after two hours of sometimes-heated debate among the nine board members.

The board put itself in an unusual position Dec. 19 when it approved a 2020 budget, but failed to pass the property tax rate that helps fund the $665.6 million spending plan.

Taxes needed to be set by Dec. 31 to abide by state law, board solicitor Ira Weiss said.

The board was divided among those who supported the increase as presented by Superintendent Anthony Hamlet and his administration and those who said more cuts could be made to the budget instead of raising taxes.

Even with the tax increase, the board is facing a deficit by 2021, the district’s Chief Financial Officer Ronald Joseph has said.

“We’ve put our egos over outcomes,” board First Vice President Kevin Carter said during the meeting.

It was Carter’s abstention in the Dec. 19 vote that led to the need for the meeting to be recessed until Friday to hash out a compromise.

Carter lobbied for a 10-mill tax rate that failed. But other votes to keep the tax rate the same also failed twice, as did a vote for the 2.3% hike that fully supports the $665.6 million budget that was approved Dec. 19.

The increase was being sought to cover a $27.3 million projected deficit. By approving a lower tax rate, district Chief Financial Officer Ronald Joseph had to rework the budget and made cuts to several line items that will not affect district programs.

More cuts to the budget should have been made, board members William Gallagher and Sala Udin said.

Those voting in favor of the tax increase included Carter, Udin, Gallagher, Terry Kennedy, Cynthia Falls and Veronica Edwards.

Board President Sylvia Wilson, Devon Taliaferro, Harbin voted against the rate.

This is the first tax hike in the district in five years.