Parking Rejects Bond Review Proposal

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority Board has put the breaks on City Council’s plans to fund the pension program by selling its parking assets. By a 3-2 vote, the board rejected a proposal by Pittsburgh City Councilwoman and board member Natalia Rudiak that would have sent out a request for proposal to get bids to review the viability of a $220 million bond issuance. Specifically, the RFP would have asked for bids to appraise the assets, hire a consultant to look at what rates could be charged, hire a financial advisor to review the viability of the bond and hire bond council to look at the tax status of such a bond. Some members of council and the Pittsburgh Controller believe it would be a tax exempt bond but the mayor’s office disagrees. The City Council was hoping the Parking Authority would approve the proposal and then eventually let the bond and purchase a city owned garage, 5 surface lots and miles of parking meters. Rudiak reminded board members that they were only voting for an RFP, not to purchase the assets. Board member and City Finance Director Scott Kunka called that a “ruse” and voted no. Christopher D’Addario followed suit and board member Linda Judson voted no saying she did not think the Parking authority was where such a review process should begin. Judson says council could do the work but she added that if the city council were to hire consultants she hopes the board would have input into the review process. Natalia Rudiak says the idea is not dead and she will return to council members to look at other options. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he is drawing up a budget that assumes the pension will be taken over by the state. During the public comment portion of the meeting Mayor Ravenstahl told the board that he would not support any plan that put the city further into debt. “It is irresponsible to open a new credit card to pay for an old credit card,” says Ravenstahl. He says the vote was a waste of time.

Council Postpones Vote on Rental Requirements

City Council members were not ready this morning to vote on changes to the Residential Housing Rental Permit Program, which was the city's 2007 effort to crack down on slumlords.

Landlords sued the city over various parts of the legislation, and the judge in the case has asked the parties to work out an agreement. Councilman Bill Peduto says responsible landlords are unfortunately protecting irresponsible landlords when they oppose the city's reasonable efforts to preserve neighborhoods. Peduto says some owners have used city properties as ATMs for so long without being required to meet certain standards, they see anything the city does to protect its neighborhoods as an infringement on their property rights, which they think should trump others' quality of life.

Peduto says problem properties are more likely to make people give up on living in the city than property taxes or issues of public safety and school quality.

Among other things, the city's law department wants Council to reduce the registration fee from $12 per unit each year to $12 every two years.Since representatives of the law department could not answer many questions without jeopardizing pending litigation, Council voted to take up the topic in a private Executive Session.

Council and Mayor Spar Over Pension

More than four hours of debate, lecturing, name calling, and posturing in Pittsburgh City Council Chambers today all boiled down to a single question. The question posed to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl by Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Krauss came more than three and half hours into the meeting, “So we are at a stalemate?” Ravenstahl answered, “That’s a fair word, sure.” That short exchange may have made all of the other talk around the conference table moot.

The council has rejected the Mayor’s plan to fund the pension program up to at least 50% through the lease of parking assets for the next 50 years and the Mayor says he will not support the council’s plan to sell assets to the Pittsburgh Parking Authority to fund the pension program. If the city does not get its pension program up to the 50% funded level by the end of the year state law will force the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System to seize control of the pension’s assets and layout a schedule to make the plan fully funded within the next 30 years. Everyone agrees a take over by the PMRS will lead to higher minimum payments. How large those payments will be should be known by the end of next week but the Mayor’s office has estimated it will cost the city an additional 27 million dollars next year.

The meeting opened with Mayor Ravenstahl outlining why he thought the council’s plan was irresponsible. He says it is based on what he believes to be an erroneous assumption that a bond floated by the Parking Authority would be tax exempt. If the IRS deems the bond to not be tax-free it would increase the interest rate by 2 to 3 percent. The council disagrees. While pension bonds are usually taxable, City Controller Michael Lamb and Councilman Patrick Dowd argue that it is would be a bond to purchase an asset, not a pension bond. The Mayor also believes the plan puts the parking assets at risk. Council moved its plan partially based on the argument that it keeps “public assets public” while the Mayor’s plan would give control of the assets to a private company. Ravenstahl says the poor financial condition of the city and the parking authority, coupled with the poor condition of the garages means “it is a very real possibility” that the authority would default on the bond. “That means that the public assets would become the assets of Wall Street,” says Ravenstahl. Under the lease deal the assets return to the city in 2051.

The meeting nearly disintegrated after the Mayor’s presentation when he began to asking councilwoman Natalia Rudiak questions about the viability of the plan and its chances of being accepted by the Parking Authority. Council President Darleen Harris scolded the Mayor for asking questions saying a post agenda meeting is intended to help the council gather information, not to launch a debate.

After cutting to the heart of the mater with his question to the mayor, Councilman Bruce Kraus suggested that the council should stop looking at either plan and instead begin talking about how to best deal with a state pension take over. “So lets be honest and call it what it is and begin to do our due diligence and make certain that however the state is to administer this plan it become administered in the most efficient manner with the least impact on services that need to e delivered and the least impact on city employees,” says Krauss. Councilman Ricky Burgess says all of the council’s efforts to derail the mayor’s plan were aimed at forcing a state takeover and them put the blame on the mayor.

At one point Councilman Bill Peduto suggested that the city should look at a hybrid plan. He says the city should consider increasing parking rates on the same schedule as is suggested under the Controller’s plan and then use those funds to help cover the increased pension payments that would come following a state takeover.

Council Hears Experts on Marcellus Shale

Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields brought together environmental and legal experts in Council Chambers Monday for a Marcellus Shale information-gathering session.

The discussion centered on public health concerns related to drilling and the legal issues the city may meet when trying to ban Shale gas wells.

Shields recently introduced a moratorium on Shale drilling within city limits. However, the ban might not be legal because it contradicts Pennsylvania's Oil and Gas Act.

University of Pittsburgh constitutional law Professor Jules Lobel says while the Oil and Gas Act preempts local zoning laws, the city could argue that the ban is an emergency measure to protect its natural resources. Lobel says Pittsburgh could also argue that gas drilling, like nuclear power, is too dangerous an industry for an urban area.

Pitt environmental law professor Emily Collins says if the moratorium is challenged, the city could face three problems: Pittsburgh's limited zoning authority, the precedence of the Oil and Gas Act, and the time and money needed for litigation.

Cornell University environmental engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea says environmental accidents occur at one in every 150 wells, which is unacceptable when compared to the far smaller incident rates in other industries like bridge-building and air travel.

Lobel says while Pittsburgh may lose a court battle with the state, persistent lawsuits can change the opinion of the courts over time.

Council Tentatively Rejects Mayor's Parking Deal

Pittsburgh City Council today delivered a huge setback to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's plan to lease the city's 12 parking garages and 9,000 meters. The mayor wants to lease the parking assets for 50 years to the joint venture, Pittsburgh Parking Partners for $452 million and use half of that sum to boost the city's pension fund to 50% of its $990 million obligation.
But, Council today voted 6-1 preliminarily against the mayor's proposal. Councilman Patrick Dowd said they didn't kill the mayor's proposal because "it's been dead a long time....The mayor's people have said the clock is ticking so let's get this dead plan off the table and work on viable solutions."

Dowd believes such a solution is selling the parking assets to the Parking Authority for $220 million and using that amount to bring the pension fund up to the 50% threshhold. The state has threatened to take over the pension fund in January unless it has at least 50% of its obligations. Dowd says he believes selling to the Parking Authority and keeping the assets public is a good solution but he is still open to other alternatives.

Dowd says he does not think there will be any switch when a final vote is taken..."I don't believe there will be any change.....I only believe there is one resurrection, and it isn't this bill."

CPRB and City Spar Over Redacted Documents

The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB) and the city will be back in court in August to make oral arguments as to why the heavily redacted documents given to the CPRB by the city do or do not meet a judge’s order to hand over materials needed to investigate police officers' actions during the G20 summit in September. At a contempt of court hearing today, CPRB lawyer Ward McGough argued that so much information was lined through that the documents are unusable. Paul Krepps, the attorney for the city, says if the information was not redacted the city could be in violation of privacy laws. The city also argued that releasing the data could in some cases jeopardize future operations. Along with arrest, incident, summons, subject resistance, and investigative reports, the board asked for operational documents such as the manual given to visiting officers and the insurance policy taken out by the city to cover the time around the G20. CPRB Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger says because the information in the documents has been "blacked out" the board is unable to do its job. Pittinger notes that in other cases being investigated by the CPRB the city has handed over the documents without any redaction. The judge has given the city and the CPRB until August 26th to prepare for oral arguments. Between now and then there are several deadlines including a date to submit written arguments.

It has also been learned that the Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor are submitting new names to fill the Citizen Police Review Board. The council and the mayor choose the seven-member board. All of the current members of the board are serving under expired terms. Some of them have been serving in that capacity for two years according to Pittinger. When asked to react to the submission of seven new names Pittinger said, “I think you would have to look upon it as a retaliatory act.”

Pittsburgh Mayoral spokesperson Joanna Doven says the approval of the board nominees on the same day as the court hearing was coincidental and in no way a retaliation. Doven says the 4 names from the council were submitted to the mayor 58 days ago and he had 60 days to review them and sign off on the nominations. Doven was also quick to point out that of the three nominations made by the mayor two are current CPRB members.

Police Review Board to Pursue Charges Against Harper

The Ravenstahl Administration and Pittsburgh City Council remain at odds with the Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB) over the board's attempt to force Police Chief Nate Harper to surrender police documents regarding the G20 summit last fall.

The board wants the papers to complete an investigation into the police department’s handling of the September 2009 summit. 188 people were arrested and according to the CPRB at least a dozen people filed complaints against police.
City Council this week passed a resolution urging the review board to "align" its pursuit of documents with the legal process of pending lawsuits.

City Council and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl say releasing the documents could put lawsuits involving the G20 Summit in jeopardy.

But CPRB Executive Director Beth Pittinger says that’s irrelevant – Harper is bound by a Common Pleas Court order to relinquish the documents. She says the city shouldn’t worry about the information leaking anyway:

“Their disclosure to us is not disclosed to the public. We’re bound to confidentiality in the ordinance with a long-standing agreement with the city regarding confidentiality. It’s not their place to decide what, and when, and where we get information.”

Pittinger says the CPRB will continue its attempt to find Harper in contempt of court. She says that would probably put daily fines of about $600 on the city until the documents are released to the board.

CPRB has a court date for that action on Friday.

B-PEP, Northside Coalition Support Capital Budget Changes

Community groups gathered in Pittsburgh City Council Chambers today to show support for legislation that would reform the city’s process of appropriating capital funds.

One of Councilman Ricky Burgess’s bills would prevent the city from using federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for items that would normally be paid for with city dollars. Burgess says this practice leaves poorer communities with less than their fair share of city funding.

The Councilman says channeling the correct amount of city dollars into CDBG-recipient communities will also create a snowball effect.

“Oftentimes, private dollars and state dollars and other dollars follow city emphases and city priorities. We believe with the city making these communities a priority, you will see other dollars flowing into those poorer communities.”

Another Burgess bill would mandate a six-year plan for the city’s capital budget and require public hearings. A multi-departmental committee would oversee that process.

Speakers from the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Northside Coalition for Fair Housing voiced their support, saying these measures will bring equity to under-funded areas.

Burgess’s measures were introduced last month, but Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak proposed very similar legislation yesterday. Her bill would also mandate public hearings and create a six-year capital budget plan. In addition, it would create a committee to find unspent money left in projects that never got off the ground. However, Rudiak’s bill does not address CDBG funding.

She contends that her legislation contains better definitions and represents the consensus of Council.

“Burgess’s bills take a lot of the budgeting process out of the hands of City Council, which is elected to represent these community organizations, and it puts it in a panel that’s essentially controlled by bureaucrats.”

Burgess says despite policy differences, he’s willing to work with Rudiak.

“I feel very confident that her and I will sit down in the near future and reconcile, through conferencing, our legislation, so that we can put something together that the vast majority of Council can support.”

Bill Would Reform Pgh Capital Budget Process

Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak says her “Neighborhoods First Capital Budget Reform Act” will transform the city’s capital budget process into a six-year program.

The Councilwoman says the measure would also open public hearings on the capital budget and create a committee to find money “hidden” in projects that never got off the ground.

“For example, in my district we have a senior center that has had money in the budget for eight years, and we have a deck hockey rink that’s had money in the project for years,” says Rudiak. “And a lot of those projects haven’t gotten off the ground for various reasons that may not even be the fault of the city itself. But we actually need to actually start looking at all of these old accounts and seeing where the money is, so we can actually move them.”

Councilman Ricky Burgess proposed legislation to reform the capital budget process last month, but Rudiak says her bill contains more specific definitions and allows for more community input.

Citizens Urged to Report Nuisance Bars

Pittsburgh City Council discussed nuisance bars at today’s post-agenda meeting.

Councilwoman Theresa Smith says she called for the dialogue because she wants city residents to know what to do if they have a nuisance bar in their community.

City Solicitor Dan Regan says citizens must continually file complaints with the Nuisance Bar Task Force. He says as complaints must grow more frequent, agencies like the police and the Task Force will compile that data and give it to the District Attorney’s Office. From there, the D.A. can decide whether to pursue legal action.

Regan says even if there is no court case taken against the bar operator, the state’s Liquor Control Board will take the complaints into consideration when the bar is up for a liquor license renewal.

Smith says even if it takes a few years, communities can see results when complaining about nuisance bars. She urged residents to remain persistent when it comes to these bars.

The Nuisance Bar Task Force can be reached at 412-323-7761.

Soldiers and Sailors Offers to Help City Council with Monuments

Curator Michael Kraus hopes grants can be secured to do an inventory of all the monuments and memorials as to condition, ownership, and historical information. This would be the first step in establishing a list of priorities and a protocol. Some monuments are no longer being taken care of and need cleaning, weeding, or other repairs.

Kraus says Soldiers and Sailors would also act as a clearinghouse for civic groups like the Boy Scouts who would like to volunteer their efforts. He says it's important for today's children and all Americans to be aware that people from their communities served their country when needed.

Harris: Study is Necessary...Burgess: It's a Waste of Money

By a vote of 8-1, Pittsburgh City Council today gave final approval to spending $250,000 to hire Finance Scholars Group to conduct a study of the city's parking assets. Council President Darlene Harris says the study is necessary for "council to make an informed decision" on how best to use the city's parking assets to boost the city's pension fund to at least 50% of its obligations.
The money will come from city parking revenues and the lone "no" vote Ricky Burgess called it a waste of money.
Burgess supports Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's proposal to lease the city's parking garages and meters for up to 50 years for at least $200 million.
Finance Scholars Group will have until August 1 to study the mayor's plan as well as other proposals including Harris' idea to float a bond to bolster the pension fund and use revenues from increased parking taxes and fines to pay back the bonds. Councilman Patrick Dowd and Controller Michael Lamb have proposed transferring some of the parking assets directly to the pension fund.
The consultant will also determine a value of the city's parking assets.

Harris says there is enough time to come to agreement on a plan to use the parking assets before the January deadline when the state would take over the pension fund..."We just want to make sure we do what's in the best interests of the residents of Pittsburgh."

Clean Air, Water Acts Arrive at Pgh City Council

Environmental activists, union members, and several community organizations gathered outside Pittsburgh City Council Chambers today to support new legislation aimed at cleaning the city’s air and water.

Councilman Bill Peduto’s Clean Water Act of 2010 would require publicly-funded developers to try to contain storm water runoff. Its partner bill, the Clean Air Act, would mandate that diesel-powered construction vehicles be retrofitted with cleaner exhaust systems or replaced with cleaner vehicles.

Council members Bruce Kraus, Natalia Rudiak, and Doug Shields also support the bills.

Pittsburgh United Executive Director Barney Oursler says Council should have six yea votes in order to get the measures passed, because Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s administration might not back the legislation.

Oursler says his group is working to garner support for the bills in Councilman Patrick Dowd’s district.

“We’re going to keep on pushing other Council members until we get to six, seven, eight, and nine, as we did with prevailing wage,” says Oursler. “We will win, but we will only win because we work really hard and stick together.”

Service Employees International Union spokesman Sam Williamson says Pittsburgh residents deserve clean rivers and clean air.

“We deserve a government that ensures that when we use public money, taxpayers’ money, to fund private development, we’re going to make our environment cleaner, not dirtier,” says Williamson.

Debate over Hayden Nameplate Moves to Council

A small nameplate honoring Gen. Michael V. Hayden at the corner of Allegheny Avenue and North Shore Drive will be the subject of what could be a big public hearing today before Pittsburgh Council. Greg Barnhisel of Pittsburgh’s Park Place neighborhood noticed the nameplate while visiting the Carnegie Science Center. Barnhisel says he does not question the debt of gratitude owed to the general for his service in the U.S. Air Force but he does question the wisdom of honoring him for his work after leaving the military. Hayden left the Air Force as a four-star general to become the Director of the National Security Agency and then the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. While in those post Hayden became a lightening rod for the left when he helped to implement the Bush administration’s warrantless-wiretapping program and then helped defined the CIA’s interrogation program that many have equated to torture. Hayden is a native of Pittsburgh and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl honored him with the plaque but did not get it approved by the city council. Something he did not have to do but is customary. Barnhisel Gathered the needed signatures on a petition to get the hearing scheduled. He says the way the mayor posted the nameplate should be part of the debate at today’s public hearing and so should an examination of the appropriateness of honoring Hayden. What he does not want is to have the public hearing devolve into a debate about Bush era policies. The hearing begins at 9:00am in Council Chambers.

Council OK's Additional $600K for Libraries

Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation today sending $600,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The funds amount to a second payment from the city in return for a promise from the library to not close any branches this year. CLP had originally planned to close four libraries and reduce hours at the remaining facilities but put that on hold for another year when Pittsburgh City Council said it could find $600,000 in unspent funds in its 2009 budget and the same amount in the 2010 budget. Library Spokesperson Suanne Thinnes says the library still faces a funding gap for 2011 and the library board is looking for ways to close that gap. Thinnes says even the promise of additional revenues from the tax on table games in Pennsylvania will not be enough to close the gap. That tax is expected to generate about $850,000 for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Hearing Scheduled for "Opt-out" Waterline Insurance

Pittsburgh City Council resolved Thursday to host a special meeting for residents to speak on the “opt-out” waterline insurance instated by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

The insurance charges customers $5 per month in exchange for covering possible problems with many water and sewer pipes running from the street to structures. Those pipes are the responsibility of the landowner.

The PWSA used to offer an “opt-in” version of the insurance, but changed their policy to opt-out because few property owners took them up on the offer. The insurance now covers water pipes 2 inches or less wide, and sewer pipes 8 inches or less in diameter.

The problem is that many residents whose pipes don’t fit these measurements are still being charged.

Councilman and water authority Board Member Patrick Dowd says since governmental entities can legally use opt-out programs, there’s not much Council can do to change this policy.

Dowd says he’d like to work with the water authority to allow more pipe sizes to be covered. He says for people who have this insurance, it would cost less than $2000 for 30 years.

“In fact, $2000 is a bonus, a bargain relative to the woman that I talked to in the East Liberty portion of our district who had to pay $15,000 to have her sewer line repaired,” says Dowd.

He says anyone who wants to drop the coverage can contact the PWSA to get a full refund before June.

Kraus: Fight the Court Order

An Allegheny County Court of Common Please judge (Joseph James) has struck down a city ordinance that would limit the number of bars in a given area. The measure was passed with Carson Street in mind but applies in all business districts in the city. The judge declared the ordinance to be invalid because it infringed on the powers of the Liquor Control Board. City Councilman Bruce Kraus, who represents the South Side, says he is ready to fight the ruling and he will hold the mayor t his promise to do the same. The mayor made the promise in a letter sent April 16th to his own South Side Advisor Commission that reads in part, “…our city law department will defend any court action challenging [the restaurant and liquor license zoning ordinance].” Kraus says, “I look forward to standing side by side with the mayor and the newly appointed city solicitor in challenging this court order.” Kraus says he will trust that City Solicitor Dan Regan will be able to set aside any conflicts he might have over this case. Kraus grilled Regan during confirmation hearings over his ties to the law firm of Caputo and Caputo, which is the law firm of record in the fight to overturn the ordinance. Regan was one of three partners in that firm until his confirmation this week.

City Council Takes Action On Series Of Amendments

Pittsburgh City Council today approved a handful of amendments to the 2010 budget that, among other things, replaces funding that would have come from the city's proposed 1% student tuition tax. The amendments that replace the revenue from the proposed tuition tax come from multiple sources throughout the city. They include money taken from the city's debt service fund, anticipated savings as a result of a new financial reporting system and better collection of fee's and fines citywide. Council approved the measure by a vote of 6 to 1 with Councilman Patrick Dowd voting no. Dowd says he voted no because he wants more information on how the Mayor was able to calculate anticipated savings and because he does not want to use money designated for debt service to pay for budget gaps. The move allows for council to discuss and debate the budget on Wednesday and still gives them the ability to make any changes they feel necessary before taking a final vote. Council still have to vote two more times before the budget can be finalized.

Bill Would Require Good Wages at City Developments

A bill that would provide good wages and benefits to workers employed at new city-subsidized developments has been introduced by Pittsburgh City Council President Doug Shields.

Janitors, food service workers, grocery store employees, and certain hotel workers stand to gain from the bill, which seven of nine council members sponsored.

Shields says one opponent of the legislation is Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s office, which he says put forth propaganda against the bill as soon as the idea was brought up.

Shields says many developers also oppose his bill, but he respects their position.

“It’s a fairly risky business, now more so than ever,” says Shields. “But at the same time, you’ve got to look at the big picture. You’ve got to look at the overall health and welfare of this community.”

A public hearing on the legislation will be held Thursday, December 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

A final vote on the proposition could come as early as Tuesday, December 15.

Solicitor Nominee Gets Grilling but no Public Hearing

Despite a long list of signatures on a petition the Pittsburgh City Council has decided to not hold a public hearing on the selection of a new city solicitor. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has nominated 34-year-old Daniel Regan to replace George Specter who is moving to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. South Side residents asked for the public hearing after they learned that Regan is one of three partners at the law firm of Caputo and Caputo. That firm represents several bars on Carson Street including one that has a case pending against the city contesting an ordinance to limit the number of bars in a neighborhood and another bar that Councilman Bruce Kraus, who represents the South Side, says is flagrantly defying liquor laws. The petition had the required number of signatures to call for a hearing but missed the deadline by weeks. A hearing request must come within three days of a bill or nomination being introduced. In the past the council has ignored the time restriction but by a split vote decided to enforce the rule in this instance. Before the vote was taken council members asked a few questions about qualifications including time practicing the law and experience with municipal law and issued a few warnings about how political the position could become with the mayor’s office and nine council members all placing demands on the legal department. Kraus grilled Regan on his dealings with the bars and questioned his ability to set aside those allegiances. He says, “I have an attorney who is presently suing me at the table asking me to hire them as my attorney and I’m struggling.” Regan repeatedly told Kraus that he did not feel there was a conflict of interest and if there ever was a conflict he would take steps to make sure safeguards are put in place to prevent even the appearance of impropriety. He says, “I can defend the ordinance and I will defend that ordinance.” Council is expected to take a vote on Regan’s appointment next week.