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Draft Touted as Success and County Property Tax Hearings to Skip Pittsburgh

County Council

County exec uses quarterly address to highlight residents’ benefits from NFL Draft prep.

Downtown Pittsburgh now has its first playground and public restrooms, County Executive Sara Innamorato told council on April 28. In her quarterly address, she said NFL Draft prep gave the region a deadline for permanent projects. She named Arts Landing and the renovated Market Square among them. A countywide cleanup also removed 7.3 million pounds of debris, she said.

Written by Amy Whipple

The NFL Draft may not have lived up to expectations, but event preparation was a win according to Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.

Innamorato gave her quarterly address to county council during its April 28 meeting. She highlighted the weekend itself with 150 small businesses and vendors that contracted with the NFL, “minimal arrests for an event this size,” and increased use of public transit.

More so, Innamorato said, was that the region is better off because of the work that went into preparing for the event. For instance, a county-wide cleanup clocked 40,800 volunteer hours and removed 7.3 million pounds of debris, including 53,384 tires. “We all benefit from that,” she said.

“It also gave us a deadline to do some really big permanent projects for the people who call Pittsburgh home,” she said, such as the new Arts Landing and renovated Market Square. Downtown now has its first playground as well as public restrooms. “These are going to be public civic spaces that are going to be enjoyed for generations.”

Aside from the NFL Draft, Innamorato noted quality-of-life initiatives around affordable housing, growing green spaces, and childcare subsidies. The county’s health department also adjusted its food permit process so simple permits like concession stands for youth athletics have their own queue, bringing the wait down to three days from a high of 80.

She added that Welly Bottle Company opened its manufacturing facility in Leetsdale. Welly is the only reusable water bottle company that is entirely American made.

County Council

Council accepts $1.8M from dissolved health nonprofit to shore up mental health and social services.

A 2025 memo said Allegheny County's mental health and substance use treatment program faced a $20 million deficit for 2026. Now, county council has voted to accept $1.8 million from the dissolution of HealthChoices, Inc. The human services department will use it for mental health, intellectual disability, and social services, among other things. There's no set deadline for spending it.

Written by Amy Whipple

Despite having close to $1 billion in funding for 2026, the county’s Department of Human Services (DHS) needs more money.

Council voted to accept $1.8 million from the dissolution of HealthChoices, Inc. The funds will be used by DHS for, among other things, mental health, intellectual disability and social services. There is no designated period of use.

The department began overseeing Allegheny County’s Behavioral HealthChoices program, which is funded by the state, in 2023. According to a 2025 memo, the program, which helps cover the costs of mental health and substance use treatment services, was facing a $20 million deficit for 2026. In the 2024 fiscal year, more than 60,000 residents were served using HealthChoices funding.

The program’s approximately $500 million represents 41% of DHS’s budget. DHS receives the largest share of the county’s budget.

Council also accepted $20,000 from Pelican Insurance for offsetting the cost of a loss prevention project for the county’s four Kane Community Living Centers. The centers provide residential care for the elderly and disabled. The money, split evenly at $5,000 each, will be used to improve resident safety, maintenance, or risk management programs.

County Council

Proposed property reassessment public hearings skip Pittsburgh.

None of the hearings on a proposal to reassess property every three years are in Pittsburgh. On April 28, a county council member pointed that out and urged holding one within city limits. Another member asked for an online session, saying the evening schedule would be prohibitive for some. Still, council's chief clerk said any added hearings would need council approval.

Written by Amy Whipple

Members of Allegheny County Council want to give residents more chances to speak out about the proposed reassessment schedule.

Council Member DeWitt Walton of the Hill District said the public hearings related to a proposed property reassessment schedule do not include a Pittsburgh location.

The legislation, introduced on March 24, would mandate reassessments every three years beginning in 2028. The assessments are used to determine property taxes for Allegheny County, its 130 municipalities and 42 school districts. The most recent county reassessment was in 2012 after a court order.

 “I would urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to reconsider that before [notice is] posted and host one of those meetings within the city limits of Pittsburgh,” he said during the April 28 meeting.

Council’s chief clerk, Jared Barker, said that the legally mandated public notice of the hearings had already been finalized. Any additional hearings would need to be approved by council. 

The first hearing took place on May 6 at Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) South Campus. The three remaining public hearings will be June 3 (CCAC Boyce Campus Auditorium), June 16 (CCAC West Hills Center) and July 1 (CCAC North Campus). All hearings start at 5:30 p.m. Residents can submit written comments through July 10.

Council Member Kathleen Madonna-Emerling of Moon also requested an online session. She said, “They’re all at the same time in the evening and same day of the week, which is going to be prohibitive for a number of people to attend.”

No action was taken since the subject was not on the meeting agenda.