Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl got most of what he wanted from City Council yesterday -- passage of a $438 million budget without any strings attached to a special $45.3 million debt piggy bank -- and now must decide whether to veto council's changes to the blueprint.

In a statement, Mr. Ravenstahl thanked council for its final 6-2 vote for a budget that he said "builds a healthy savings account, continues neighborhood reinvestment, and addresses the long-term challenges of debt and pension." It also continues annual state-mandated reductions in the parking tax.

The city's fiscal overseers, the state-picked Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Act 47 recovery team, previously approved the budget.

But council shifted $66,552 from the fuel-buying account to the Law Department to hire an attorney for council's use, and another $133,448 to pay for more employee education.

It tapped another $56,103 in fuel funds to put video of city meetings online. And it restored funding for an urban forester the mayor had eliminated from the budget.

Mr. Ravenstahl said last week that he would look at all council amendments and might veto them. His administration reiterated that yesterday.

Councilman Patrick Dowd, who fought last week to get details on a new $45.3 million fund for cutting future debt payments, made an unsuccessful last-ditch bid to attach to the budget a letter from the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority broadly describing the fund's purpose.

"There is nowhere in the budget that we have any specificity about what this money is going to be used for and how it's going to be used," he said.

"Shame on Councilman Dowd," said Councilman Jim Motznik, for "grandstanding for political purposes."

Only council Finance Chair William Peduto joined Mr. Dowd in voting against the budget. He said the debt funds "could be spent and by 2011 we'll be back to deficit spending."

"We now have a $90 million surplus instead of a $40 million deficit," said Mr. Motznik. "If the mayor was a CEO of a company that did that, he'd be getting a big, fat bonus right now."