No Tax Increase in City’s 2026 Budget

Mayor cautions council McKeesport must remain diligent with tax, fee collections

By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
December 12, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

• Download McKeesport’s 2026 budget

• Download Mayor Michael Cherepko’s budget message

McKeesport will mostly hold the line on spending in 2026 and draw down less from a reserve fund than in the previous two years, according to a new budget approved this month by city council.

The $25.9 million spending plan accepted unanimously by council represents a slight increase from the 2025 budget of $25.7 million. Property taxes remain the same at 11.26 mills on buildings and 20.5 mills on land. McKeesport is one of three municipalities in Allegheny County that levies separate property taxes on vacant land and buildings.

Each mill represents $1 in tax on every $1,000 of property value, so a millage of 11.26 equals property tax of $11.26 on each $1,000 of a building’s value as assessed by Allegheny County. Earned income tax and the local services tax remain the same as 2025.

In his annual budget message to council, Mayor Michael Cherepko noted that while the city still has a “solid reserve” fund from its 2017 sale of the municipal sewerage system to Pennsylvania American Water Co., “this cushion won’t last forever.”

“For this reason, we must be at the top of our game with revenue collection, and as obvious as that strategy seems, it’s more complex than you think,” the mayor said. “It’s up to us to be certain that we are collecting every penny that is due to the City of McKeesport.”

The city will draw $5.2 million from the reserve, a decrease from $5.7 million in 2025 and $6.275 million in 2024.

Cherepko said the city has been “diligent” in collecting delinquent property taxes and establishing payment plans for all revenues, including business privilege taxes, mechanical device fees and other permits and licenses.

“By collecting more of what is due, it has allowed us to keep our fees and tax rates lower despite the ever-increasing costs of health insurance, (pension funds and) fuel and utilities,” he said.

Cherepko credited City Administrator Tom Maglicco and Finance Direct Tasha Phelps with working to trim expenses and increase revenue collection.

Although the salaries for the mayor and fire chief remain the same as the previous two years, increases are budgeted for the city’s solicitor, police chief and public works director.

Public safety remains the biggest expense in the city’s budget, with the police department budgeted at $6.34 million (a 5 percent increase over 2025) and the fire department at $2.61 million (an 8 percent decrease). The city will spend $1.58 million on trash collection in 2026 — a 2 percent increase — and $1.74 million on street maintenance — a 2 percent decrease.

The budget for administrative and mayor’s office expenses have been cut 5 percent in the 2026 budget.

Cherepko said that the McKeesport Rising program — which has seen the demolition of 800 blighted residential and commercial buildings — will continue in 2026, but will slow down “based on what our budget can afford.”

The city’s efforts to eliminate blighted buildings are “bringing hope to our existing home owners and business owners while inviting new developments,” he said. “We will utilize (federal) Community Development Block Grant funding and we are aggressively seeking state and county dollars to further our efforts.”

Continued push on Versailles Ave. viaduct

Cherepko said a main focus of the city remains replacement of the Versailles Avenue Viaduct, which closed in 2022, forcing residents of the Fifth and Seventh Wards to make major detours.

“While we are working with $2.3 million in state dollars to get through the engineering processes of constructing a new bridge, this project is far from complete,” Cherepko said, adding that McKeesport officials are partnering with U.S. Rep. Summer Lee to identify federal funding that could be used to replace the city-owned span.

Maglicco and state Rep. Dan Goughnour recently toured with neighborhood with State Rep. Ed Neilson of Philadelphia, who chairs the state House Transportation Committee, in a bid for additional state support, the mayor said.

The mayor said the city is focused on developing jobs and property tax revenue from a “multi-tiered” economic structure that includes retail businesses as well as industrial facilities, and said the city is serious about attracting investment to the Downtown business district.

Cherepko closed his message by thanking council for its support.

“All of you are deeply invested in the McKeesport community, and this is key in every stride we make,” the mayor said. “Your service means something — you volunteer at community events, you share the concerns of your neighbors and speak on their behalf, you sit on boards and committeees, you engage with the next generation of McKeesporters, you patronize local shops and restaurants. You truly live your lives by ‘working together for a better McKeesport,’ and I couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come.”

Originally published December 12, 2025.

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