Here is my summary of County Council’s third and final 2026 budget hearing held on November 13th, 2025. Members Botta, Catena, Filiaggi, Grzybek, Hallam, Palmosina, and Walton were present.
During the hearing we heard from the Court of Common Pleas, Sheriff, and Treasurer. Brief summaries from each are below.
Court of Common Pleas – President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente presented. For those unaware, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas includes civil, criminal, family, and orphans’ court. The Court’s budget is proposed to increase from $97.4M to $99.8M for an increase of 2.5%. The Court requested an 8% increase. That would have been used for court appointed representation and an increase in general staff, which could assist the court in moving through cases quicker. During previous meetings, we discussed the increase in jail population driving up costs despite serious crime rates being down. While that is true, criminal filings as a whole (driven by lower level crimes) are up 21%, and median time to disposition has increased 32 days since 2023, from 252 days to 285, which is what has led to the increase in jail population. The President Judge spoke of one case in which a person’s Allegheny County case had been adjudicated but they were stuck in the ACJ for over two more months due to a probation detainer in Westmoreland County being processed extremely slowly. While issues like this are outside of the Court’s control, they are using the tools they have available to adjudicate cases as expeditiously as possible while maximizing public safety.
Sheriff – Sheriff Kraus presented. The Sheriff’s presentation was brief, focusing on some of the 2026 initiatives like concealed carry satellite events, disposal of unused medications, and damaged license place replacement events. The budget is proposed to increase from $24.2M to $25.0M, for an increase of 3.4%. The full requested amount was $26M, and that additional $1M would have gone primarily to increased staffing.
Treasurer – Treasurer Erica Rocchi Brusselars presented. Both last year and this year, I have been extremely impressed with how the treasurer’s office is finally entering the 21st century. The office has increased revenue by $400,000 by moving to electronic payments, cut nearly $100,000 in banking-related fees, and got rid of all $150,000 that was previously being spent on IT consultants. These successes have actually allowed the Treasurer’s office to reduce their budget this year from $9.15M to $9M, for a decrease of 1.68%. Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment has been the tremendous increase in investing effectiveness. The investment return to effective federal funds rate has increase from 57% in 2022 all the way to 94% in 2025, limiting the amount coming out of taxpayers’ pockets and expanding the reach of County programs.