Pittsburgh City Council is expected to take final action Tuesday on Councilman Jim Motznik's proposal to freeze the city's parking tax rather than reducing it.

Council voted 8-0 yesterday not to follow state law that requires the city to reduce the parking tax incrementally through 2010 as part of its financial recovery. The $25 million extra the city would collect by keeping the tax at 45 percent -- rather than reducing it to 40 percent next year and 35 percent in 2009 -- would be split between the city's debt service and pension fund.

Councilman Bill Peduto, who has a different idea for the parking tax, abstained.

Mr. Motznik proposed the city keep the money rather than reduce the tax after private parking lot operators and the city Parking Authority failed to reduce rates when the tax was reduced this year.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said yesterday he had not decided whether he will sign the parking tax freeze if it is passed Tuesday.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, the sponsor of state legislation that would allow the city to keep the tax rate at 45 percent, called council's legislation "blatantly illegal" and not helpful to his efforts.

"If we get everybody's backs up, it's going to make it harder for me to work with Sen. [John] Pippy and Sen. [Jane] Orie," said Sen. Ferlo, referring to Republican colleagues in the GOP-controlled Senate. "I think council should not have taken that action."

Mr. Peduto wants to force the city authority to reduce its rates with the hope that private operators follow. He also wants to ask the state Legislature for permission to cancel a 2.5 percentage point decrease scheduled for 2010 and give the $2 million it generates to Allegheny County to help pay part of its Port Authority mass transit subsidy.