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Jan 5, 2009 5:24 pm US/Eastern
Onorato Won't Appeal Drink Tax Ruling
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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The drink tax has been lowered to 7 percent, but opponents were hoping for a greater reduction.
KDKA
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Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato says he's not going to raise property taxes.
KDKA
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato was dealt a blow when a judge ruled the county could only use excess revenue collected from the drink tax to fund the Port Authority.
But in a surprising move, Onorato says the county won't appeal the ruling but instead will live with it. He says that does not mean he will raise property taxes.
The judge ruled on Friday the extra money has to go to Port Authority or mass transit. Opponents of the drink tax had hoped that would mean Onorato would lower the drink tax from 7 percent to 3 or 4 percent.
Onorato says he's not going to do that.
"If you hear nothing else from me today, hear this: We are not raising property taxes to fix this problem," he said at a press conference Monday afternoon. "We will live within our means and I believe that I have the right to stand here and tell you that I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk with five years of experience as county executive by not raising taxes."
According to Onorato, budget cuts and layoffs are possible.
"We're happy that he's not raising property taxes because I was tired of getting all the phone calls from customers saying I was going to be responsible for their property tax increases," says Kevin Joyce from the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association. "But overall what he's saying is, 'We're going to keep the money anyway.' That's not really the right way to go. I think some leadership would recognize the difficulty our industry has right now."
Now the county is down $12 million in the budget but there is some wiggle room in the judge's decision.
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