O’Connor says Pittsburgh faces budget shortfall of up to $40M, leaving city finances in crisis

Pittsburgh could be facing a severe budget shortfall of up to $40 million this year, according to projections revealed Thursday by Mayor Corey O’Connor, leaving his young administration scrambling to figure out how to cover costs.

O’Connor blamed inaccurate predictions and “a lot of false assumptions” by the previous administration for the financial predicament he said the city is in.

“The reality is much worse than we thought,” said O’Connor, whose staff has spent the past several months poring over the city’s finances.