The recent property tax increase provided temporary relief, but predictions show that the county could still struggle in the years ahead.
After a substantial property tax increase brought temporary financial relief, Allegheny County is facing a looming budget crisis. According to the county’s acting Controller Amy Weise Clements, rising costs and the end of federal pandemic aid could cause substantial budget problems in the years ahead.
For 2025, the county approved a 36% property tax increase to bring in an additional $132 million in revenue.
On Monday, Weise Clements released the 2025 Popular Annual Financial Report. She wrote that the county faces “considerable fiscal concerns” despite the recent property tax raise.
“Stability and growth will be key to reestablishing the county’s financial footing, but belt-tightening is also likely to be necessary,” she wrote in the report.
Allegheny County raised property taxes for the first time in more than a decade in 2024. County officials had heated debates over the raise. With the 36% increase, no county employees were laid off and departments remained fully funded.
In December, the council approved a $3 billion budget without raising taxes or laying off employees.
Weise said spending is expected to increase by approximately $40 million in 2026, but that the county should break even this year.
In the report, Weise said that the Department of Human Services and the Allegheny County Jail have accounted for more than $100 million in spending increases since 2019. She said that the two departments will need to decrease spending by $30 million in 2027.
“Curtailing this cost growth without diminishing services is challenging but not impossible. These departments must explore moving functions in-house that are currently contracted at continually escalating cost,” the report said.
At the Department of Human Services, spending by Children, Youth, and Families increased by $28 million.
Weise expressed concerns over the Allegheny County Jail relying on employee overtime. The county’s pension fund was 32.7% funded in 2025, which is a far cry from the 80% threshold that is considered healthy.
The gap between pension benefit payments and contributions also widened from $41 million to $48.8 million. The report shows that the system is paying out more than it brings in.
The report also focused on the county’s long-delayed property reassessment process.
“While, due to anti-windfall provisions in state law, a seemingly inevitable property reassessment would not immediately alter the county’s financial standing, it has become impossible to argue that embarking on this process is not long overdue,” Weise wrote in the report.
Members of the council proposed legislation in March that would mandate countywide property reassessments every three years beginning in 2028. The bill has not moved, but the council will hold the second of four public hearings on it this Wednesday.
