A Pittsburgh councilmember has proposed a partial hiring and spending freeze for the city to help avoid a tax hike.
The proposed plan to partially freeze hiring and spending comes from councilmember Theresa Kail-Smith.
No formal legislation has been introduced yet, but she’d like to put in partial hiring and spending freezes for the city.
Kail-Smith’s potential plan looks to pause future grants to nonprofits, would restrict nonessential travel outside the city of Pittsburgh, and would limit nonessential overtime with the exception of certain departments like public works and public safety.
The proposed freeze would also limit the use of procurement cards to certain departments.
Kail-Smith’s proposal would halt the hiring to fill currently vacant and new vacant positions, but there are certain circumstances where that could change.
It would also freeze all non-essential purchases.
Kail-Smith says the city’s budget and finances don’t look great in the years ahead, but says raising taxes to try and fix that would be difficult on people.
“We can’t get blood from a rock,” Kail-Smith said Tuesday during City Council’s regular meeting. “We have residents that cannot pay. We have senior citizens not taking medication, not eating food, not buying things because they are worried about losing their homes. So they do things to struggle to pay their tax bills that we are charged for being responsible stewards of their dollars.”
It’s important to note that Mayor Gainey’s preliminary budget proposal doesn’t include a tax hike.
Kail-Smith says the city can also cut spending when it comes to grants. Her plan would also pause new or renewed contracts outside of parks and recreation, public safety, and public works.
The proposed plan would begin next year and Kail-Smith says she plans to work with other councilmembers and the Gainey administration before reintroducing the legislation.