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Pittsburgh City Council

City property taxes slated to go up 20%.

Written by Amy Whipple

Pittsburgh homeowners may soon see a 20% increase on their property tax bill.

Council voted six to three to increase property taxes. The change adds $161 a year for every $100,000 in property value to residents’ tax bills.

Accounting for expected delinquencies, the increase will garner $28.3 million in 2026. The additional revenue will mostly cover the expected shortfall of $30 million over what Mayor Ed Gainey had budgeted for utility costs, overtime pay and fleet maintenance.

Council was not unanimous in its support.

Council Member Anthony Coghill of Beechview cited $8 million in recent savings by canceling two comprehensive plan contracts and denying a $6 million salt storage facility. He said the city should explore additional avenues for savings.

Council Member Bob Charland of the South Side, who voted for the tax increase, expressed concern about the city’s financial independence. “We don’t want to see the city go into Act 47 which I believe, without doing this, we’re cratering towards.” Pittsburgh spent 2003-2018 under the state’s Act 47 financial guidance program.

Several council members expressed frustration that UPMC and the other large non-profits are exempt from paying property taxes. According to PublicSource, those exemptions for the “Big Five” totaled $34.5 million in 2022.

Gainey ran on trying to force non-profits to pay taxes, and his attempt to engage in a “payment in lieu of tax” program with UPMC never came to fruition.

The last time the city raised property taxes was in 2014, one year after the county last assessed property values. The county, alongside the school district, also passed tax increases for 2026.

Gainey has until Dec. 30 to veto the increase. Council only needs six votes to override a veto. If the increase holds, it will go into effect Jan. 1.

Connections to this story

Elected officials:
Anthony Coghill
Topics:
City Budget & Fiscal
Governments:
Pittsburgh City Council
Sources:
Ordinance 2025-2632 — amending the Pittsburgh Code at Title Two: Fiscal, Article IX: Property Taxes, Chapter 263: Real Property Tax and…

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