Allegheny County DA’s office takes aim at Sara Innamorato’s proposed budget

By Steve Bohnel / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s 2025 budget reflects a “clear bias” against law enforcement, according to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office.

First Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Spangler, representing Mr. Zappala, told County Council members Thursday night that the DA’s office is severely underfunded and added that Ms. Innamorato is favoring the county manager and county solicitor’s offices while neglecting others like Mr. Zappala’s.

“There is a clear bias in the public safety budget against law enforcement,” Ms. Spangler told council members. “And as noted before, the general government section also exhibits a bias toward the county manager’s and solicitor’s offices.”

Ms. Spangler also said that the seven new hires the county executive included in the budget were actually hires already agreed upon in 2024. On Thursday, she said those positions should have been included in the 2024 operating budget, but there was a lack of clarity from the final budget proposed and approved by County Council last December and whether those positions were actually even budgeted. And the current administration included those seven as additional hires in the 2025 budget — something the district attorney’s office disputes.

Ms. Innamorato recently unveiled her budget and proposed a 46.5% property tax increase earlier this month, saying the raises were needed to address a structural deficit that has been building up since 2021.

It would increase property taxation by 2.2 mills from 4.73 to 6.93 mills, an average of about $182 a year for the median homeowner in Allegheny County when factoring in a proposed increased homestead exemption.

Thursday was council’s first chance to hear directly from department heads and county residents.

Officials from Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the county sheriff’s office, district attorney, controller and treasurer all presented to council members why they all need a bump in funding for 2025. Outside of PRT, the year-over-year increases are between 4% to 6%, according to Ms. Innamorato’s proposed 2025 budget.

Ms. Spangler noted, more specifically, the increases to other offices: a 30% increase for the county manager’s office, and nearly 19% increase for the county solicitor’s office. The district attorney would get a 5.9% bump in the 2025 budget proposal.

She said that any cut would be disastrous and that Mr. Zappala’s office is “treading water” with current funds. In response to a question from Council Member Bethany Hallam, Ms. Spangler said that she would be reusing the paper she used to present the budget plan to council members to take notes on later — an indication of how prudent the office is with taxpayer dollars.

Other county leadership was not as critical of the budget, but acknowledged that any cuts would be tough to manage. Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus said he would make do with any budget that is provided. But a 10% cut, for example, would be significant and would likely result in reducing staff by about that amount, he said.

PRT’s budget is more complex because it heavily relies on state funding. PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman said during the budget hearing that her budget is asking for around $1.5 million more from the county in 2025, or about a 15% increase.

But in questions from council members, she said that every $1 lost in local funding essentially equates to losing $19 in matching funds from other sources.

The Department of Human Services — which provides outreach and services to homeless people, child care assistance, other supports for families, and various other programs — presents a complicated budget picture because a significant portion of its funding comes from the state and federal government. In 2024, council approved a budget of $240.5 million for DHS, and in 2025, thanks to an increase in state and federal funds, that has increased to a proposed $286.9 million.

The department hasn’t brought in enough to cover those costs — in 2024, county officials anticipate about $191.5 million in revenue, and in 2025, $224.4 million, according to the county executive’s proposed budget. Broadly speaking, the county is looking to provide more access to health care and mental health services to residents in need, alongside a new discounted bus fare program for low-income residents and moving the Veterans Services Division from the county’s Department of Administrative Services into DHS.

One of the largest proposed increases would be in Children Initiatives and Non-Department Expenses under general government. That line item jumps from $1.2 million and $5.6 million — what council approved for 2024 — to a proposed $6.1 million and $46.3 million, respectively. That’s an increase of about 430% and 724% for those two program areas.

Children Initiatives is not collecting revenue in 2024, but is expected to bring in $2 million in 2025, all from state funds. County officials say in the operating budget that the increased budget is to support the workforce in early childhood education and out-of-school time programming, along with support for families needing assistance with child care and other needs. Ms. Innamorato announced $500,000 in January to help with child care, all of which came from American Rescue Plan Act monies.

But some council members say the huge jump in the budget needs further examination, and that they have questions about how efficiently that money will be spent. They also have questions about the miscellaneous and non-department expenses in the budget.

Non-department expenses are those not specifically attributed to specific programs in various departments and agencies within county government, but draw from the county’s general fund to help pay for various operating expenses.

Much of the debate over the coming weeks will likely focus on the operating budget, council members have said.

The remaining public hearings are scheduled for Oct. 28 and Oct. 30 in the Gold Room of the Allegheny County Courthouse, both at 5 p.m. Residents can also submit written comments to council members through Nov. 8.