Pittsburgh City Council is set to work over the weekend as leaders try to hammer out a new budget before the end of the year.

Mayor Ed Gainey's spending plan is being met with opposition, with several city council members saying it will only worsen the city's budget woes. 

Pittsburgh's city council certainly has a lot on its plate when it comes to the budget. They have to determine if there will be service cuts or a tax increase. Council members say there's no easy way out of what they consider a budgetary mess.  

The city of Pittsburgh's 2026 budget has to be done by the end of the year, and by law, it has to be balanced. The Ganiey administration says they've done just that with their proposal.

"Mayor Gainey's administration made a budget proposal that's balanced, that doesn't call for any layoffs of existing employees, that protects city services and that does not raise taxes," said Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak. 

But several members of Pittsburgh City Council say the mayor's plan does nothing to fill the $20 million hole they say the city is facing if they approve it.

"I have no prediction of how we will solve Gainey's shortfall in the budget," said council member Bob Charland. 

Charland says to find the money, council is facing some tough calls. Right now, a 30% property tax increase is on the table, along with service cuts.

"Unfortunately, this is the situation that Mayor Gainey has put us in here with the spending plans that we've seen over the last four years," Charland said. 

Council member Erika Strassburger, council's finance committee chair, says despite the challenge, she thinks a deal is possible, but it's going to take a lot of work.

"Every other possible savings that we were able to put out there and proposed were passed preliminarily, indicating we have, ideally, the votes to get them done on Sunday as well," Strassburger said.

On Saturday, council will hear an earful about the possible 30% property tax hike. In a rare Saturday morning public hearing, Pittsburgh homeowners have signed up to speak and voice their opinion about the financial mess.

Council is then scheduled to vote on a budget on Sunday.

"If we paper over our budget right now, we kick the can down the road, we could find ourselves back in a place several years from now as the city was in 2003 when they were solving for a $60 million deficit, didn't have too many choices and ended up under state oversight."