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Pittsburgh City Council

Controller Heisler urges caution, citing $44.7 million deficit.

Written by Amy Whipple

Controller Rachael Heisler had her own assessment of the proposed Downtown TRID.

In an email to council on Tuesday, Heisler argued against it citing the urgency of the city’s financial distress. As she told council during a June 24 post agenda meeting, 2025 ended with a $44.7 million deficit. This year is expected to end in the red as well. It takes three years of deficits to trigger Act 47, which puts city finances under state control.

Heisler attributed a similar Downtown redevelopment plan — which included more than $34 million in subsidies to attempt to bring in department stores — as a component of the city’s 2003 entry into Act 47.

“I think it is reasonable and responsible to consider how confident we are that the long-term benefits of this proposal would exceed the revenue we would lose in the short term,” she wrote.

Heisler pointed to the URA’s statement that its TRID projects could generate $2 million for the city in 2029. Heisler noted, however, that — as is — in-progress Strip District projects would bring $2.2 million in additional revenue in 2029. A TRID would reduce that revenue to $550,000.

Heisler also said several proposed and in-process projects would not bring in additional tax revenue because of Downtown’s 20-year tax-abatement program for developers.

Heisler also cautioned that if the URA did not put aside money from the bond for the first years of debt repayment, “the City could potentially be on the hook for more than $3 million in 2027.”

“These are lean years,” she wrote, “and combining revenue loss with potential debt expenditures will only make them leaner.”

Connections to this story

Topics:
City Budget & Fiscal
Governments:
Pittsburgh City Council
Public meetings:
City Council · July 21, 2026

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