Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato proposed a $1.2 billion spending plan to County Council Tuesday. Her version of the 2025 budget calls for the county’s first property tax increase in 12 years, meant to address what Innamorato described as “challenging times” for the county economy.
The proposal is “fiscally responsible and moves our county forward,” Innamorato said.
Her spending plan proposed a millage rate of 6.93 — 2.2 mills more than residents currently pay. If approved, the change would result in about $167 million in additional property tax revenue.
But in an effort to take some of the sting out of the hike, Innamorato is also proposing a $3,000 increase to the homestead exemption, so that the first $21,000 of a home’s assessed value would not be taxed.
Under the changes, the owner of a home assessed at $110,000 (the median valuation in Allegheny County) would pay about $619 in property taxes each year. That’s up from about $437 under the current tax rate, an increase that works out to roughly $15 more each month.
It requires a two-thirds vote of county council to increase the county's property tax rate.
The budget is the first of Innamorato’s administration and includes a 3% spending increase from the 2024 budget created by her predecessor, former county executive Rich Fitzgerald. Innamorato said the hike is meant to plug a structural deficit previously covered by federal COVID pandemic funds.
The proposal comes amid growing financial difficulties for the county. An interim financial report released by the County Controller’s office earlier this month warned that the end of COVID aid and an accumulating deficit could require leaders to make some tough financial choices.
The county is expected to have a $81 million deficit by the end of 2024.
Like many governments, the county has used federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to shore up losses incurred since the pandemic began. That money is set to expire soon, but expenses are still exceeding revenues, in part because of cratering assessment values for commercial properties Downtown.
This story is developing and will be updated.
