Pittsburgh City Council
Proposed bills would offer council budget training and put quarterly finance sessions into law.
Written by Amy Whipple
Pittsburgh City Council would like to put an end to receiving financial surprises.
During the Oct. 13 general meeting, Council Member Erika Strassburger of Squirrel Hill North introduced four finance reform bills and Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield added a fifth.
The bills aim to address financial and budgetary issues that have come to light in the past year, some of which have been more expensive than others.
This past November, then-Council Budget Director Pete McDevitt revealed during a budget presentation that the city had $13 million in unaccounted for water bills from 500 accounts spread across city departments.
During an April 8 committee meeting discussion regarding reopening the operating budget, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rea Price drew council’s attention that the city pulled $10 million from two trust funds to pay for general expenses.
One proposed change is to train council how to read a budget. The training would teach members about operating and capital budgets, five-year forecasts and financial reports. The current administration has said that previous administrations have used fuzzy five-year forecasts to produce a state-mandated balanced budget, a point of contention during last year’s budget meetings and this spring’s reopening.
Another bill would codify quarterly finance meetings between the administration and council. Those meetings began informally this year.
During one such meeting in September, Price said the projected year-end deficit had grown from $24.4 million to $30.2 million between the end of the first and second quarters. The city spent more money the first half of the year than it did in the first half of 2025 but saw its revenues decline year-over-year. While the city was expecting more money because of the NFL Draft, preliminary reports show a $1 million loss instead.
Council sent all five bills to its finance committee for further review.
Connections to this story
- Elected officials:
- Erika Strassburger
- Governments:
- Pittsburgh City Council
- Public meetings:
- City Council · October 13, 2026
- Sources:
- Ordinance 2026-0985 — supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code, Title Two: Fiscal, Article I: Budget, by adding a new Chapter 222: Budget…Ordinance 2026-0986 — amending the Pittsburgh City Code Title One: Administrative, Article VII: Procedures, Chapter 161: Contracts, Section…Ordinance 2026-0987 — amending the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances, Title 1: Fiscal, Article I: Administration, by amending Chapter 219…Ordinance 2026-0991 — amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances, Title Two, Fiscal, Article One, Administration, Chapter…Ordinance 2026-0994 — amending the Pittsburgh City Code, Title 1: Administrative, Article VII: Procedures, Chapter 161: Contracts, Section…
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