The personnel cuts that will be needed July 1 if further federal pandemic relief funds aren’t approved “may prove to be untenable,” Pittsburgh Council Budget Director Bill Urbanic told council members Thursday.
The city needs an infusion of at least $26 million by then to avoid making the cuts, which would include more than 600 city employees, a third of whom would be police officers.
In addition to putting a strain on the city’s finances, the pandemic has been a real-world test of the city’s overall preparedness for a critical emergency, Hissrich said.
Public safety workers responded to pandemic emergencies while also dealing with more than 200 protests since May 25 spurred by the national Black Lives Matter movement, Hissrich said.
In addition to cutting 200 cops, more than 150 firefighters and more than 60 emergency medical services (paramedics) would be cut if the city doesn’t receive federal help.