PITTSBURGH —
Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday announced a series of fiscal reforms to address a $200 million budget deficit projected over the next five years, with Mayor Corey O’Connor backing the proposed changes.
Despite raising property taxes by 20% last year, council members say the city still faces significant financial challenges.
“Throughout 2026, the administration and Office of Management and Budget have shared troubling information about the true state of Pittsburgh finances,” council member Erika Strassburger said. “Despite taking the difficult step to raise property taxes by about 20% last year, Pittsburgh deficit still exceeds $200 million over five years.”
The city is projected to spend $728 million in 2026 alone.
“If we can’t hold ourselves accountable and seek transparency in our budgeting process, we could again find ourselves in the same position in the future,” Strassburger said.
Strassburger outlined several proposed fiscal reforms outside council chambers.
First, council is advocating for mandatory attendance at existing post-agenda hearings to review financial reports, involving not only council members but also the administration, the Department of Finance, the Office of Management and Budget and the controller’s office.
Second, the reforms aim to tighten city spending by cracking down on P-card spending and reimbursements. Transparency would also be enhanced through the creation of a public dashboard displaying P-card spending by department.
Lastly, the council seeks to rebuild trust by introducing new training for incoming council members and staff to ensure they understand the city’s unique budgeting process.
“These are great changes that needed to probably happen 20 years ago, and shame on us for not doing it a long time ago. But now here’s what we are in. And here’s council coming together with our administration and making sure that things like this don’t happen in the future, and that everybody is aware at every quarterly report where our finances are and where they’re going,” Mayor Corey O’Connor said.
In addition to these measures, the mayor’s office will grant City Controller Rachael Heisler access to Questica, the city’s budgeting software. Emails revealed that Heisler had requested “read-only access” to Questica in October 2025, but former Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak denied the request, stating that since the controller’s office does not have a statutory role in the appropriations process, he did not see the purpose in the office having access beyond the line-item budget.
“The information that this will provide our office will allow us to see problems more quickly, and ultimately, I think that that’s a really good thing for city residents to understand when problems are coming and when they’re down the road,” Heisler said. “We did not have access to Questica. Historically, we’ve never had access to Questica. And that’s the city’s budgeting software. And I want to specifically thank the City Council for recognizing that and providing us with access.”
Strassburger said she expects a bill to be introduced regarding council oversight, along with a resolution requiring attendance at post-agenda hearings.