County Executive Innamorato makes plea to taxpayers on proposed 2025 budget

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato made a plea to taxpayers for her proposed 2025 budget.

If it’s not approved, she says county residents could see drastic budget cuts. The cuts would include the elimination of 1,000 jobs: 100 from the Department of Human Services, more than a dozen emergency dispatchers, park rangers and 40 police officers.

>> Some residents calling for Allegheny County tax hike as concerns over program cuts loom

“Please call county council, let them know you support this initiative and you support this funding,” Innamorato said.

County council is expected to vote on her proposed budget which includes a 2.2 mill property tax increase in a few weeks.

“It’s my job as executive to make sure the public understands where their tax payer dollars are going,” Innamorato added.

Part of that explanation happened Wednesday — as the county executive held a news conference with high-ranking Allegheny County public safety leaders, who were in support of her budget.

“Any reduction of funding to the county police would cause an immediate ripple effect across the county, putting vital investigations, the community safety and the public’s trust in the criminal justice system at risk,” Allegheny County Police Superintendent Chris Kearns said.

According to the county manager, if the budget isn’t passed, or just partially passed, county police would have to cut at least 40 county officers and half of the narcotics unit.

“We’re at the number we need to be at right now, I don’t want to see us go any lower,” Kearns said.

Another $12 million of the proposed budget would go toward an updated county 911 radio system. Plus, another portion is dedicated to alternative policing programs like the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program that is used in Millvale, Etna and Shaler, focusing on repeat offenders of non-violent crimes.

County council votes on the budget the first week of December — and there are council members who have spoken out against it.

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