PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey delivered his State of the City address on Monday.
It included plans for a new $839 million budget, which is nearly $40 million higher than last year’s.
Gainey said the increase will come without a tax hike, and declared that a city’s budget is a reflection of its value.
Coming out of his State of the City address, his administration prioritized three key things: infrastructure, fiscal responsibility and crime and safety.
“We made $1 million in direct investments into community organizations that have proven their effectiveness in addressing harm and trauma and we intend to double that in 2024,” Gainey said.
Dan Pollock works downtown in the criminal justice system and says both personally and professionally, crime is at the top of his list, so hearing that the mayor plans to double his investment into community outreach is important to him.
“It’s a very important issue and I think that there a lot of things that the mayor is trying to do for people who work in fields like me,” Pollock said.
The mayor also praised the Bureau of Police for their tireless service and commitment to investing in the department and violence interrupters to help shoulder the workload.
“This year, major crimes cleared over 80 percent of homicide committed in our communities,” Gainey said. “Our outreach team has now grown to 30 men and women who work with people exposed to the disease of violence every day to prevent harm before it happens.”
City Council will have until the end of the year to make amendments to the budget.
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