Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler offered a cautiously optimistic assessment of some aspects of city finances on Friday, though she said there were still reasons for concern.<\/p>\n
At a press briefing, Heisler said that city revenues offered \u201cvery positive signs midway through 2026,\u201d and indicated that the city\u2019s overall budgetary woes \u2014 which she has been warning about for more than a year<\/a> \u2014 are solvable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation we’re in is one that we can come out of,\u201d Heisler told reporters. While the city was still struggling to rein in some expenses, she said she did not believe it was on the verge of returning to state financial receivership.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s earned income, payroll preparation and deed transfer tax revenues all are outpacing last year\u2019s collections and this year\u2019s predictions, Heisler said. A property tax increase has generated additional real estate revenue as well.<\/p>\n But some other aspects of the city\u2019s finances are still precarious, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe budget\u2019s tight. We knew it would be,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is not a lot of room for error moving forward, and we need to focus on cost containment where we can, [and] where we can bring in additional revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Overtime spending is still elevated: Police overtime in particular is currently costing 20% more than it did this time last year. That\u2019s partly due to the NFL Draft this past spring, and some of the additional staff expense will be offset when the city receives an expected $2 million in reimbursement through the state. But other costs stemming from the draft \u2014 like a decline in parking tax revenues \u2014 won\u2019t be reimbursed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at the years and hours and time that went into planning the draft, it was a great event, right? Everybody had fun,\u201d Heisler said. \u201cBut \u2026 it\u2019s very expensive to host those events.\u201d<\/p>\n Heisler argued that while spending has increased, the city is better prepared for overtime expenses, thanks to budget changes City Council months ago. The city has spent 55% of the money budgeted for overtime in 2026; by this point last year it had spent 76% of its annual allocation, because the 2025 spending plan set aside less money to cover the cost.<\/p>\n \u201cI applaud [Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor\u2019s] administration for acknowledging those areas and budgeting appropriately,\u201d Heisler said. \u201cWe need to make sure that we are adequately staffed in the bureaus where there’s a utilization of overtime.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the spike in overtime can be attributed to the need for the Department of Public Works to handle snow clearance after a massive snowstorm in January<\/a>. Heisler said the city could no longer afford to think of those as one-of-a-kind events, given that climate change was making such storms more likely. She noted that last year saw a spike in overtime costs connected to the large wind storm in the spring.<\/p>\n \u201cThese aren’t just bumps. This is a trend caused by climate change that we can reasonably expect year over year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n