Fitzgerald proposes 2021 budget with no tax hike to Allegheny County Council

Allegheny County residents should have no tax increase in 2021, according to the Comprehensive Fiscal Plan presented by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

The proposed $127.6 million budget calls for no increase in the property tax.

“I am again grateful to my Chief of Staff, the County Manager, the Budget Director and all of our directors for the work they do to ensure that we are spending residents’ tax dollars wisely,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Because of their work, we are able to propose a budget with no tax increase, even in the midst of a pandemic.”

The $942.5 million operating budget shows about a 2% decrease over this year, in an attempt to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on revenue. Fitzgerald said the county refinanced bonds and saw continued growth and new construction.

“Our conservative approach has allowed us to weather the impacts of covid-19 on our alcoholic beverage tax, car rental tax, hotel tax, gaming revenue and court fees,” he said. “We expect those impact to continue into 2021.”

The proposed capital budget totals $127.6 million and includes 64 infrastructure and capital improvement projects — among them things like solar roofs in parks, expanded LED lighting and more electric county cars. The budget also includes funds for road construction and repair, landslide repairs and continued rehabilitation of the Rachel Carson Bridge.

The grants and special accounts budget totals $1.5 billion. It includes several grants to support efforts surrounding the pandemic.

The budget plan includes increases to the Departments of Human Services and Health, as well as the creation of a new department — Children Initiatives — “for a stable and dedicated network for children in Allegheny County.”

County council will hold budget hearings on the proposed capital and operating budgets later this month.