In a budget address to the Pittsburgh City Council that lasted more than an hour and a half, Mayor Ed Gainey spent little time talking about the proposed 2025 budget itself.

Instead, Gainey, who is up for re-election next year, used much of the speech to highlight his accomplishments in his nearly three years in office. He outlined his administration’s priorities, focusing on issues such as downtown revitalization, the Public Works and Public Safety departments, and infrastructure and transportation investments.

And while he acknowledged toward the end of the speech that the city faces several lean years in the near future, he said he will build on those past efforts.

“Two tough years will not stop us from continuing our mission to rebuild your government and make it deliver,” Gainey said.

The 2025 budget draft includes planned increases in anti-litter inspector positions, implementation of the automatic red light enforcement program and continued investment in bridge repair.

The mayor devoted only a small portion of the speech to talking about the city’s expected financial pressures over the next two years, a time when finances will be squeezed by an increase in debt payments and the end of federal COVID-19 relief. He also said little about the question marks surrounding the city’s police bureau, which has faced a long-term downsizing and more recently the sudden departure of its police chief, Larry Scirotto.

“Despite the recent retirement of our outstanding former chief, I remain confident in the office,” Gainey said. “I know that under Interim Chief Chris Ragland, we will continue to work together and finish the work we started.”

Gainey said he would continue efforts to “civilize” some administrative positions in the office, a move that would free up more officers to work on the streets. And he focused on the improvements that have been made in public safety and violence intervention since taking office. He noted that homicides and fatal shootings are 43 percent lower than they were at the same time in 2021, the year before he became mayor.

During a press briefing after the speech, Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak noted that the budget does not currently have money set aside for another national police search, as was done to find Scirotto. Scirotto he resigned earlier this month after initially announcing a return to off-hour NCAA college basketball officiating.

“The decision on the police chief is the mayor’s, and he hasn’t made that decision yet,” Pawlak said. “There are no resources in the budget plan as proposed today for a search like the one we did last time.”

Pawlak said the budget proposal discussed Tuesday contained some adjustments to revenue projections. which he said were related to changes in city permit fees. But he said the numbers are otherwise largely the same as in a preliminary draft budget that was released in September.

“The heart of the mayor’s proposal, which is to keep the investments that he’s proposed in the last two budgets and build on that work where we can under the circumstances, is really what you heard the mayor talk about today,” Pawlak said .

Gainey’s speech outlined affordable housing initiatives, including a suite of zoning amendments to be discussed by the Council in the coming months that would remove some barriers to new housing construction while increasing housing requirements at affordable prices through inclusionary zoning.

Not all council members were enthusiastic. Councilman Bob Charland was particularly unhappy with the lack of discussion about “how we’re going to clean up the city or find solutions for homelessness in 2025.”

“Mayor Gainey must have thought his campaign announcement didn’t get enough attention, because that’s the only reason in an annual budget speech we hear about initiatives from years ago,” Charland said.

Councilor Theresa Kail Smith said she looks forward to taking questions during the next budget hearings. She is concerned with public safety and capital projects.

“All of public safety is a concern to me right now, including with less EMS and police and where we are with fire. And the equipment is always a concern,” she said. She said she hopes to hear more about how the budget will benefit the city’s West End, which she represents.