Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s first preliminary budget calls for spending more money on public works and infrastructure in 2023. The $657 million proposal anticipates a 7% increase in spending over the current year, but does not envision a tax hike.
Gainey unveiled a draft of his 2023 spending plan, and a $147 million capital budget, at a press conference Downtown Friday. As in the current year’s budget, the city will rely on federal aid from the American Rescue Plan to fund key areas. Gainey said his administration had to prioritize spending money where it’s most needed.
“We can’t expect to achieve the entirety of our vision in our first budget,” Gainey said. “It’s going to take years to get it done. But I made a priority that we will no longer put off the critical investment in our core public services.”
To that end, Gainey proposes allocating an additional $4 million to the Department of Public Works in 2023. The increase will go towards boosting frontline staff and equipment. Gainey said he saw a critical need for new investment in Public Works after spending time riding in snowplow trucks last winter. New truck drivers and laborers will also help the city maintain its vacant lots in the summer, Gainey said.
During public engagement sessions over recent months, Gainey said most residents stressed that infrastructure was the top issue for the city. His plan would establish two new divisions under the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure: one for landslides, and another for bridges.
The new bridge maintenance division will be able to carry out recommendations expected in a report about the condition of 150 city-owned bridges due out later this month. The report is expected to include recommendations for each bridge, and to prioritize which structures need attention first.
“With the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge less than 100 days into entering office, my administration learned first-hand the critical investment that was needed for the city’s infrastructure,” Gainey said.
The walls and slopes division would allow the department to be “proactive” about landslides in the city, Gainey said. Pittsburgh’s steep hills, clay soil and narrow valleys make it a prime location for landslides, and climate change is expected to exacerbate the problem in the years ahead.
It’s unclear if the budget addresses concerns raised over the summer about chronic staff shortages in the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. There were more than a dozen vacancies in the department according to a recent audit.
Gainey largely holds the line on public safety spending. His draft plan increases the city’s police budget by $3.5 million, but does not call for additional officers. The city has budgeted 900 officers for years, though its actual force has been short of that total. The 2023 budget calls for the same force size, and Gainey has pledged to recruit officers to fill vacancies with two new classes planned in the next year.
An ongoing study about police staffing needs in Pittsburgh could call for a different number of officers. But according to Jake Pawlak, director of the Office of Management and Budget, those recommendations won’t be considered until the 2024 budget.
Gainey’s 2023 plan calls for six new paramedics, as well as upgraded police cameras and water rescue equipment.
The city would also spend $300,000 on a new plan to bring public spaces into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In the capital budget, $54 million is designated toward engineering and construction projects $43 million would go toward facility improvements and $17 million would cover a new training center for the city’s Department of Public Safety.
The spending plan also reflects structural changes to some departments.
“Our budget is both an investment in improving core city services and improving the efficiency of local government,” Gainey said, announcing a plan to move some city functions into new departments.
For example, the city’s 311 nonemergency line will move into the mayor’s office, under the Office of Neighborhood Services. Gainey said the move comes after feedback from residents. The mayor’s communications team would absorb communications staff from other departments, as well as City Channel and website staff.
Similarly, City Council’s budget would increase by $3.3 million, though that reflects the fact that it will absorb the city clerk's office, which had been budgeted separately. City Council grew its staff over the summer to better connect community groups with economic, educational and social services.
Gainey stressed that his office would continue to seek public input on the 2023 plan over the next several weeks. He will formally present the preliminary budget to City Council on Nov. 14. Council will then begin their own public engagement process, complete with a series of budget hearings, before amending and adopting the budget. The process must be completed by the end of the year.
