Pittsburgh City Council adopts 2026 budget package and fixes property tax rate

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh City Council on Sunday approved the city's 2026 appropriation and a package of budget-related ordinances, setting the real-estate tax rate for next year and passing several technical amendments to spending and accounting provisions.

The council adopted an ordinance to fix the 2026 property tax rate (Bill 2632) after a roll-call vote the chair announced as 6 ayes and 2 noes. Council then approved the principal budget appropriation (Bill 24-54) as amended to reflect final dollar amounts and passed a separate housekeeping resolution (Bill 24-60) to correct JDE account numbers used by the controller to pay certain invoices.

Council President Lavelle thanked staff and the budget office after the votes. "I want to thank the clerk's office, for all their assistance ... and thank our budget office, for being upfront, honest, and forthright with regards to our budget," Lavelle said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The votes finalize spending and tax settings that will govern city operations beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The appropriation establishes the legally required spending authority for departments and the debt-service plan; the ordinance fixing the property tax rate determines a recurring revenue stream from real-estate taxes.

What passed and how
- Bill 2632 (Property tax ordinance): The clerk read an ordinance amending the Pittsburgh Code (Title 2, Fiscal, Article 9, Property Taxes, Chapter 2-63) to fix the 2026 real-estate tax rate. The chair announced the final tally as 6 ayes, 2 noes and declared the bill passed finally.

- Bill 24-54 (Appropriation resolution): Council considered a motion to amend the resolution to reflect final budget totals following standing-committee adjustments; the amended bill passed by roll call, 8-0.

- Bill 24-60 (JDE account correction): Council adopted a technical amendment to correct the financial-system account (JDE) number for invoices moved between the mayor's office and another office; the amendment and the bill passed 8-0.

Council also heard and disposed of a set of remaining 2026 bills, including the capital budget and administrative resolutions for procurement, facility usage, PAYGO administration and other operational authorities. Several items specify dollar limits, such as facility rentals not to exceed $10,000 per event and PAYGO administration not to exceed $1,675,000.

Dissent: Councilwoman Kale Smith publicly registered "no" votes on Bill 24-55 (a resolution fixing the number of officers and employees and setting pay ranges) and on the fee schedule (Bill 24-63). The clerk announced those tallies as 7 ayes, 1 no for the items in question; other bills in the package passed with unanimous recorded support.

What happens next: Council declared the bills to have received the legally required number of votes and passed them finally; the appropriations and tax ordinance take effect under the timelines set in city law. The council scheduled two additional meetings the following day before the holiday recess.

Reporting note: Vote tallies were announced by roll call during the meeting record; individual roll-call entries were read aloud during the session as part of the clerk's record.