Pittsburgh City Council Budget Hearing - 11/12/26

Pittsburgh City Council’s 2027 budget hearing for the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections (PLI), held November 12, 2026, covered the department’s proposed operating and capital budgets, staffing, demolition program, and permitting modernization. PLI proposed 109 full-time positions, a net reduction of 12 from 2026, and reported a 2.9% overall budget decrease. Non-personnel spending would increase by $40,000, primarily for professional and technical services associated with the D’Appolonia contract. The capital budget includes demolition funding and trust-funded projects for records storage and technology and the OneStopPGH permitting system. No contract award or procurement approval was presented, and Council took no spending-related vote; the meeting ended with a motion to recess.

PLI described permitting reform in three phases: phase one went live in September 2026, phase two is planned for 2027 and includes implementation of Bluebeam plan-review software, and phase three will focus on inspections. Officials said the department’s own systems team completed phase-one improvements in-house, while ongoing software-vendor support remains costly. On demolitions, staff reported 90 completed and 35 permitted with work underway, with another 25–35 properties awaiting CDBG funding; they discussed an annual goal of 150 and estimated typical demolition costs at roughly $50,000–$60,000 per home. The timing of federal CDBG funds was identified as affecting the program’s ability to proceed.