Controller: Pittsburgh finished 2024 with a surplus but faces a multi‑year budget squeeze

City Controller Rachel Heisler told Pittsburgh City Council members on May 15 that the city closed 2024 with a modest operating surplus but cautioned that structural pressures — a scheduled jump in debt service, lower deed‑transfer and real‑estate receipts and reliance on one‑time sources — put the city on an unsustainable path without changes to revenue or spending.