City’s Budget a Tale of ‘Do More With Less’

No tax increase, though user fees increase

By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
January 07, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

• Download a copy of McKeesport’s 2025 Budget

• Download Mayor Michael Cherepko’s 2025 Budget Message

McKeesport’s financial story remains a tale of “doing more with less,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said in his 2025 budget message.

In December, city council passed a $25 million spending plan with no tax increase — but with a $100 annual increase in the municipal service fee that is largely allocated toward the cost of trash collection.

Residents took to social media to complain about the increase.

“The 33 percent increase in user fees is directly related to a more than 100 percent increase in the city’s cost of garbage collection,” Cherepko said in his budget message. “Our budget has eaten that cost over the last few years, and yet we are only going after 33 percent. In all honesty, I didn’t feel comfortable pursuing this increase until our service was satisfactory.”

The city switched from its previous hauler, County Hauling, at the end of 2022, to Big’s Sanitation.

Cherepko said that the city is focused on collecting delinquent fees, taxes and license payments.

“We know the cost of everything has gone up,” he wrote, “but like we discussed last year, ratepayers cannot cover everything, and they certainly shouldn’t cover for those who aren’t paying.”

Collecting more of what is due to the city, Cherepko said, kept the property tax stable this year “despite the ever-increasing costs of health insurance ... (and) pension funds, as well as fuel and utilities.”

Investments in public safety

Public safety remains “one of the most significant factors of the city’s operation — and its budget,” Cherepko wrote.

Of the $25.7 million spending package approved by council, $6.34 million — or about 25 percent — is allocated for police, $2.85 million (11 percent) for fire protection, and $568,000 for other traffic and safety programs.

During 2025, Cherepko said, the city police department will focus on investments in technology, community-based gun violence prevention strategies, recruitment and retention of police officers, improved department reporting and compliance, and transparency and communication.

Cherepko noted that the fire department — one of only a handful of paid, full-time fire departments in Allegheny County — has been certified since 2019 at Gold Level through the state’s Voluntary Professional Certification Program. In addition, the mayor wrote, Chief Jeff Tomovcsik was credentialed in 2024 with the designation of Chief Fire Officer by the Committee on Professional Credentialling, a status attained by fewer than 2,000 firefighters globally.

Cherepko also thanked the independent McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service for its “vital role” serving the city as well as Dravosburg, Duquesne, Glassport and Port Vue.

“It is our job, as mayor and council, to guarantee that our local public safety departments — our police, fire, and EMS services — are meeting our community’s needs and that they are given the resources to do so with confidence and pride.”

Focus on quality of life

While acknowledging that the McKeesport of 2025 is not what the city was in the 1960s, Cherepko wrote that it also isn’t what it was 15 years ago.

Since then, he said in his budget message, the city has demolished more than 800 blighted structures, including two large stretches of Fifth Avenue in the central business district.

“We have cleared a significant amount of blight along the Walnut Street corridor and on the hillside between that area and Jenny Lind Street, opening up shovel-ready property for anything from residential, commercial or light industrial development,” Cherepko said.

The city also has utilized federal funding — including community development block grants and the American Rescue Plan — along with state and county grants to improve Renziehausen Park and neighborhood playgrounds, he said.

Cherepko also praised the pop-up holiday market held Nov. 23 at the intersection of Fifth and Walnut streets. The event was a joint effort of the city, the Better Block Foundation, Penn State Greater Allegheny, Mon Valley Arts and other local groups.

“While the weather wasn’t ideal, we had a lot of people come out to watch the parade, play games, listen to music, and shop at a one-day pop-up market,” he said. “I think the Better Block program offered proof that we can host activities at various times during the year, not just on Good Neighbor Day or parade day.”

Originally published January 07, 2025.

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