County Executive’s budget holds line on property taxes for seventh year in a row
PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato presented his 2010 Comprehensive Fiscal Plan to County Council on Tuesday night. This is the seventh County budget that Onorato has crafted since being elected in November 2003.
“I am proud to present the people of Allegheny County with a seventh consecutive budget with no property tax increase,” said Onorato. “In fact, Allegheny County is the only county in Southwestern Pennsylvania that has not raised properties taxes in nine years.”
The proposed 2010 operating budget is $773.5 million, representing a $10.8 million or 1.41 percent increase over the 2009 adopted budget. This includes $2.9 million in scheduled debt service payment increases resulting from refinancing undertaken by previous administrations. All union negotiated or arbitrated wage increases have been funded, as well as pension contributions at the current rate of six percent. The County’s fund balance at the end of 2010 is projected to be stable at $18.5 million.
The County’s portion of the Rivers Casino host fee, a two-percent levy on the facility’s gross terminal revenues, has been conservatively estimated at $6 million for 2010. The alcoholic beverage and car rental tax rates will remain unchanged in 2010 and are estimated to generate $31.9 million to fund the County’s required local match for Port Authority’s operating budget and debt service related to Port Authority capital projects. This level of funding is sufficient to leverage all available state funds for the transit agency.
The County Executive’s proposed 2010 capital budget is $92.6 million and includes 97 infrastructure and capital improvement projects. The capital budget requires the use of $47.5 million in bond proceeds, $43.1 million in federal and state bridge and road reimbursements, and $2 million in other financing to support all projects planned for 2010.
The proposed capital budget provides $41.4 million for bridge construction, maintenance, repair and design, including $19.7 million to complete the rehabilitation of the Rankin Bridge, as well as $9.6 million for the rehabilitation of Jack’s Run Bridge No. 1, which connects the Borough of Bellevue and the City of Pittsburgh. The County Executive is also recommending $1 million for construction of a new bridge over active railroads tracks in McKeesport to connect Lysle Boulevard and Industry Road.
Onorato’s 2010 capital budget also provides $18.4 million for road construction, maintenance, repair and design. The annual road and facilities improvement program is budgeted to receive $4.5 million, and the paving program is recommended at $2.3 million. Allegheny County will also begin a major reconstruction project at the intersection of Brownsville, Broughton and Curry Hollow roads in the South Hills. The $5 million project includes the realignment of five roads and will include new signalization and widening to improve traffic capacity and safety.
Continuing his effort to improve County parks, the County Executive is proposing $10.5 million in capital and maintenance projects for the 12,000-acre system. This includes $4.8 million to remove sediment from North Park Lake and restore its ecosystem, as well as $1.5 million to renovate the South Park wave pool. Onorato is also recommending $800,000 for construction of three additional universal playgrounds so children of all capabilities can enjoy the County parks and play side by side. The playgrounds include wheelchair-accessible ramps and platforms wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass one another, reducing confusion and facilitating universal access to the play equipment.
Under Onorato’s proposed 2010 budget, the Community College of Allegheny County will receive $21.9 million in operating revenue and $1.5 million to support various capital projects at its campuses and centers. Port Authority will receive $8.6 million for acquisition, construction and improvement of Allegheny County’s mass transit infrastructure, including a new automated fare collection system.
For the second consecutive year, the County Executive’s Comprehensive Fiscal Plan is being distributed to Council members and the media in electronic format only, thereby eliminating unnecessary printing costs and saving County taxpayers $1500.
During 2009, the Onorato administration made great strides in improving energy efficiency, promoting sustainable practices, and increasing cost savings as part of the County Executive’s “Allegheny Green” initiative. The County will save more than $350,000 annually due to improvements at the Allegheny County Jail. More than 800 light fixtures were replaced with high-efficiency LED lights, which consume 83 percent less energy. In addition, the jail is using environmentally friendly cleaning products and has expanded its recycling program, both of which reduce energy consumption and waste.
The County entered a contract with Amcom Office Solutions to replace its 406 copier/printer/fax machines with modern, Energy Star-rated multifunctional devices. The new equipment will save taxpayers more than $400,000 annually or nearly $2.3 million over the five-year term of the contract – a 47 percent reduction over the previous agreement. To save paper and additional costs, the new devices are set to print double-sided by default.
In addition, the County is completing a comprehensive inventory of its annual greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage in buildings and vehicles. The newly hired sustainability manager is drafting environmentally preferable procurement policies, expanding recycling in County-owned facilities, and providing sustainability training to employees.
Since taking office in 2004, Onorato has reduced the County’s operating payroll by 573 employees. The County Executive’s efforts to consolidate and merge government services and functions have resulted in $21.7 million in savings. This figure includes: $10 million in savings from merging five 9-1-1 centers into a unified County system; $7.3 million in savings from joint purchasing, including telecommunications, electricity and commodity goods; $2.8 million in savings from collapsing the City of Pittsburgh’s fingerprinting operation into the County’s; and $1.6 million in savings from consolidating six row offices into the County administration.
Onorato is also working with municipalities throughout Allegheny County to encourage consolidation among volunteer fire departments and municipal police departments. Currently, there are more than 100 separate municipal police departments and more than 200 separate volunteer fire departments in Allegheny County. The County Executive’s staff succeeded in helping four separate volunteer fire companies in Stowe Township to consolidate into one. The administration is having ongoing discussions with other departments throughout the County.
In March, Onorato announced an extension and expansion of the City and County’s joint purchasing agreement, under which the County is continuing to jointly purchase commodities, such as office supplies, uniforms and computers, and it is now jointly purchasing non-professional services, such as plumbing repairs, electrical maintenance, and waste disposal.
In 2004, Onorato and County Council cut property taxes by $7 million by increasing the homestead exemption. In 2006, the County Executive fought to reduce County, municipal and school district taxes by $8 million for 8,700 homeowners who saw their assessed values wrongfully increased due to appeals by municipalities and school districts.
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