After long and heated debate, Allegheny County Council yesterday adopted a $727.5 million county budget for next year that includes a new 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic drinks and a new $2-a-day levy on car rentals.

The drink tax passed in a 10-4 vote with one abstention, while the rental car tax was approved 11-4.

Revenue from the new taxes is earmarked for public transit.

Supporting the drink tax were council President Rich Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill, and members John DeFazio, D-Shaler, Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, James Burn Jr., D-Millvale, Bill Robinson, D-Hill District, Michael J. Finnerty, D-Scott, Joan Cleary, D-Brentwood, Charles Martoni, D-Swissvale, Robert J. Macey, D-West Mifflin, and Brenda Frazier, D-Stanton Heights.

Opposed were Vince Gastgeb, R-Bethel Park, Jan Rea, R-McCandless, Matt Drozd, R-Ross, and newcomer James Ellenbogen, D-Banksville. Councilman Nick Futules, D-Verona, also a freshman member of council, abstained.

On the rental car tax, Mr. Futules voted yes; Mr. Ellenbogen voted yes; and Mr. Fawcett voted no. All others voted the same as on the drink levy.

The votes of at least 10 of the 15 council members were required to enact the new taxes.

A crowd of restaurateurs and business owners, who packed the Gold Room of the Courthouse, walked out of the council meeting vowing to fight the drink tax.

"[County Council] has really undermined the health and welfare of Allegheny County by passing this tax," said Kevin Joyce, proprietor of The Carlton restaurant, Downtown, and chairman of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, who led the fight against the levy.

"We will fight this tax," he said. "We will mount a legal challenge to this if we have to. This can't be the last word."

Allegheny County currently provides about $25 million in annual funding to the Port Authority. In most years, the county's subsidy has come solely from property tax revenues, although the county tapped $8 million from a special reserve account for part of this year's outlay.

At the county's request, state lawmakers this year approved legislation allowing the county to levy the drink and car rental taxes, which are expected to generate about $30 million per year to cover the county's share of transit costs.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who included the new taxes in his budget proposal to council, had vowed to veto any budget with a property tax increase. The county's tax rate is currently 4.69 mills.

He said a failure to enact the new taxes would force him to lay off up to 800 county employees.

Mr. Onorato last night called the budget "a victory for all property owners in Allegheny County," noting that it was the fourth consecutive year without an increase in the 4.69-mill property tax rate.

"This budget also provides dedicated funding for Port Authority, which will enable the agency to leverage additional state dollars," he said. "Allegheny County has finally joined other metropolitan areas in creating a dedicated funding source for mass transit that does not include property taxes."

Mr. Onorato has vowed to withhold the new revenue unless the Port Authority cuts costs.

"We will continue to work with Port Authority management and labor to restructure and reduce the agency's costs and get it back on sound financial ground."

The overall operating budget was approved 12-3, with Mr. Gastgeb, Ms. Rea, and Mr. Drozd voting "no," and the capital improvements budget passed with only Mr. Drozd voting against it.

Mr. Onorato's plan to fund mass transit and address a $30 million gap in the budget with the two new taxes was not well received at the council meeting, which lasted more than three hours.

About 35 speakers lined up to denounce the drink tax, predicting economic devastation for restaurant and bar owners.

"This is wrong," said Janet McClelland, a 23-year employee of The Carlton restaurant. "Don't you see the trend the state is setting? They're saying 'Anytime we're in trouble, let's go to the hospitality industry,' " she said.

Tom Baron, owner and chief executive of Big Burrito Group, which owns Mad Mex and other restaurants in Pittsburgh, said the tax will eat into the livelihood of many waiters and bartenders.

"Listen to your constituents," he said, calling the tax a quick fix to the county's long-term fiscal woes. "This is a poison Band-Aid on a bleeding artery."

"This is one of the toughest votes, but if we don't pass [these taxes], we have to find another solution," Mr. DeFazio said. "We are cut to the bone here. It's easy to put your head in the sand, but I cannot see where we have another alternative."

Opponents of the drink tax let out an audible sign when Mr. Fawcett, the only Republican to support the levy, cast his vote.

"It was a really tough vote," he said after the meeting. "I think it's a shame that there wasn't more compromise. It was especially difficult for me because I have dedicated my career to keeping effective government and being a fiscal conservative."