Controller Heisler: City must contain costs, grow revenue to beat post-pandemic ‘hangover’

Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler talks about where the city’s revenue comes from at the June 11 Greater Hazelwood community meeting. Photo by Tiffany Taulton

By Juliet Martinez, managing editor

The June 10 Greater Hazelwood monthly community meeting was well attended despite the beautiful late spring weather. Attendees got an update on the BioForge facility under construction on Hazelwood Green, learned about Hazelwood’s homegrown workforce development company and heard from City Controller Rachael Heisler.

Post-pandemic blues

Ms. Heisler visited Hazelwood to give an overview of Pittsburgh’s financial situation.

“The next couple years are going to be tight financially,” she said.

The pandemic caused problems for every municipality in the country, Ms. Heisler said. In Pittsburgh, it hurt the city in several ways. One hit came from the loss of revenue from the amusement tax. This is a 5% city tax on the admission price for concerts, movies, sporting events, night clubs and conventions.

Downtown also changed forever as remote work took over, affecting all kinds of economic activity. For example, she said suburban commuters who work in Downtown pay $52 per year. That revenue dropped and has continued to decline. The controller’s office measured a 12% drop between 2022 and 2024. Ms. Heisler said parking and amusement tax revenues fully rebounded in 2024. But Downtown property taxes have stayed low.

A fourth of all city property taxes come from our Downtown core, Ms. Heisler said. “That hasn’t rebounded, and I don’t expect it will.”

The BNY Mellon building was reassessed last year for $750,000 less than before, she said. Multiply that by all the Downtown properties and the city will be collecting a lot less in property tax revenue than it has traditionally budgeted for.

The city will also be facing higher debt service payments in the next couple of years. The city delayed bond payments during the pandemic, which will drive up those payments. Normally, the city pays $50 million in bond payments per year, but it will go up to $75 million in 2025 and 2026.

“That was the right decision to make at the time because we didn’t know that the federal government was going to come in and support us,” she said, referring to the American Rescue Plan Act. This program infused cash into depleted city coffers, but that money has been allocated and/or spent. So, while the city is now bringing in less money, it owes more on those bonds. Tariffs may also raise prices.

Public safety staffing levels must be maintained, Ms. Heisler said. Half of the city’s budget goes to public safety, and the staffing levels are low.

Ms. Heisler said the point of her presentation is not to make Pittsburghers worry, but to make them aware that city finances will be tight over the next couple of years. The situation is not unsustainable, she said, but requires appropriate responses.

The city has to address the drop in revenue and contain costs so they can continue to operate. But it also has to find ways to increase revenue.

Half of city revenue comes from property and income taxes, she said. Legislators and the executive branch of the city have to make decisions that allow it to grow.

“We’re in a very delicate position, and I want to reiterate that this is not unique to Pittsburgh,” she said, naming Phoenix, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin and Atlanta as sharing in the “post-COVID hangover.”

“I’m not trying to present a bleak picture, I’m trying to present an honest picture, which is what I hope you take away from this,” she said.

One idea Ms. Heisler proposed was to find ways to encourage college students who come from elsewhere to settle here.

“If someone moves to Hazelwood and buys a house in Hazelwood, they’re more likely to stay in Hazelwood,” she said. “Their kids are more likely to go to public school, and they’re going to be good neighbors, and they’re going to be at a meeting like this in three years, right?”

Workforce development

Hazelwood’s own Danielle Davis Ph.D. represented her company, Davis Consulting Solutions at the meeting. The company is a professional training and consulting service that offers workforce development programming in Hazelwood and citywide.

Ms. Davis is the chair of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative workforce committee. She holds a doctorate in community engagement from Point Park University. Her company works with businesses and job seekers. It offers human resources and recruiting, as well as consulting on diversity, management, workforce and community engagement.

Davis Consulting Solutions works with employers to help them identify their workforce needs like roles, qualifications and numbers of staff. They make a plan with the employer to attract those workers through what Ms. Davis called a community-to-community approach.

The company then holds events throughout the region in communities that have said they need workforce programs. They listen to the challenges people are facing, like transportation.

Ms. Davis said UPMC has made recruiting from Hazelwood a priority, so Davis Consulting Solutions is reaching out more. They especially want to reach job seekers who have low income and receive any kind of public assistance, and anyone who is unemployed or underemployed. Job seekers in their programs receive case management.

Fine more information at davisconsultsolutions.com. Job seekers please call 412-407-2499 to schedule a free initial consultation.

Ms. Davis invited anyone interested in workforce programming in Hazelwood to attend a virtual meeting of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative workforce committee. They meet on the second Monday of each month at 2 p.m. For more information, email her at consultwithdavis@gmail.com.

Development activities meeting

Hazelwood Initiative Director of Engagement and Sustainability Lauren Coursey explained what a development activities meeting is. The Department of City Planning works with Registered Community Organizations (Hazelwood Initiative Inc, in this case) to give people a way to offer input into development activities that affect them. If a project meets certain thresholds and the developer requests a hearing with the Zoning Board of Adjustment, then the Planning Commission, the Historic Review Commission or the Art Commission must coordinate with the Registered Community Organization and City Planning to hold a development activities meeting. This meeting gives the community a chance to learn about the proposal and share any feedback early in the process.

BioForge update

The BioForge biomanufacturing facility is under construction on the corner of Blair and Beehive streets. It will create interventions and the manufacturing of precision biomedicine. This will speed the use and impact of the new treatments and therapies for hard-to-treat conditions, Ms. Ward said.

The facility’s core and shell are more than 80% complete, said Gina Black, University of Pittsburgh’s vice chancellor of planning, development and public art. The interior work preparing the space for core tenant ElevateBio is underway and expected to be up and running next year.

The signage for BioForge that required public input were two large signs that will say “University of Pittsburgh” on different sides of the building. When signs are placed over 45 feet high, they require a development activities meeting, said designer Bill Kolano, owner of Kolano Design.

The community will also have the opportunity to influence the selection of public art for the outside of the building. The university will convene a committee with people from Hazelwood, local artists and others to review artist proposals. The three finalists will spend time in Hazelwood and decide what story they want to focus on and how to tell it. A public engagement consultant is guiding that process.

Anyone interested in participating in the artist selection process should contact Heidi Ward at HAW221@pitt.edu.

Ms. Ward, a Hazelwood resident, represented the University of Pittsburgh as the Director of Pitt’s Neighborhood Commitment in Greater Hazelwood. She talked about the planned community engagement center that will co-locate with Center of Life on Hazelwood Green. It will be a welcoming space with free services and programs for residents, she said.

Over the past year, the Neighborhood Commitment in Greater Hazelwood has launched two middle-school STEM programs with partners Center of Life and JADA House International. They offer career counseling to residents, a health lecture series at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood branch, and an air quality monitor/air purifier program. They also partnered with Offroute Art on a biotech art fellowship. In February, a 50-hour life sciences bridge program will launch its first cohort.

Gladstone Residences

Hazelwood Initiative Executive Director Sonya Tilghman announced that leasing has begun at Gladstone Residences. The 51-unit redevelopment of a beloved neighborhood school began 10 ye ars ago. Ms. Tilghman has worked on this project for close to nine years.

Some landscaping and other external details are still in process, but the building is finished and move-in ready, she said.

Of the 51 units, 43 are affordable. Ms. Tilghman said leases for 12 units were signed as of the first week of June. Six other tenants have been approved for leases, and 12 more have been approved through the housing authority. In total, 30 tenants have been approved, signed their leases and/or moved in.

The Gladstone Annex redevelopment is not underway yet, but things are happening behind the scenes, Ms. Tilghman said. A masonry assessment has identified areas that need particular attention, like the rooftop trim.

The public input process will start later this year, she said.

Meeting participants asked about the pool being restored. Someone suggested a roller rink there, others a farm.

“What happens with that building will be a community conversation,” Ms. Tilghman said, adding that the final project will balance community vision with the availability of funds.