Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato today announced plans to reduce the county's controversial 10 percent drink tax to 7 percent.

Mr. Onorato proposed and then implemented the levy in January, together with a $2-a-day tax on car rentals to fund the county's $30 million subsidy of the Port Authority. The levy is on pace to significantly exceed the $28 million it was intended to generate in revenue.

So far, the drink tax, which is paid monthly by restaurants and bars and is due on the 25th of the succeeding month, has yielded $22 million in revenue with 97.5 percent of the 2,200 eligible liquor license holders complying.

Mr. Onorato's plan to reduce the levy comes a day after County Council, in its preliminary 2009 budget preparation talks, proposed a number of bills regarding county revenue, including a proposed drink tax reduction to 8 percent.

Councilman William Robinson, D-Hill District, has budget proposals calling for a reduction of the drink tax and an increase in real estate property taxes from 4.69 mills to 4.92 mills -- an increase of about $23 on property worth $100,000. Those proposals were moved to the budget committee as members waited for Mr. Onorato to introduce his budget.