Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato says layoffs could be in the works if her proposed property tax increase isn't passed following a news conference Thursday.
Innamorato says the county has been doing what it can to cut costs, but with federal COVID money disappearing and other factors, they are facing a lot of challenges including layoffs.
“We are talking about drastic cuts that impact the lives of people throughout this county,” said Innamorato. “We are a major employer, we’re talking about thousands of layoffs at the county, we’re talking about closures at facilities like Kane, where dementia patents are housed, we’re talking about deferring maintenance on roads and bridges, we’re talking about not investing in our police force.”
Ten of the 15 council members need to vote "yes" to pass the property tax increase.
“I don’t want to raise people’s taxes,” added Innamorato. “I know that working families are seeing prices rise, all over the place.”
On Tuesday, Innamorato called for a 46.5 percent property tax increase in the 2025 budget. She is trying to close an $80 million deficit.
Republican Council member Sam DeMarco asked about what efficiencies the county can find. She says they're not ruling out asking some departments to do more with less.
State Representative Tim O’Neal of Washington released a statement Tuesday night responding to the proposed property tax increase.
The Republican lawmaker says Washington County welcomes Allegheny County residents. In O'Neals words: "We have low taxes and high quality of life."