City Council
PNC Foundation gives $2 million for snow equipment after 37 plows broke down in one night.
The city is adding snow removal vehicles after 37 plows broke down in one night. On Feb. 4, council gave preliminary approval to a $2 million PNC Foundation gift covering 15 of them. With other funds and retrofitted trucks, the city will have 70 snow vehicles. The mayor's chief of staff said they won't be ready this winter, though they should arrive by next winter.
Written by Amy Whipple
The PNC Foundation wants to help prevent another night of 37 snowplow breakdowns.
Council gave preliminary approval at its Feb. 4 committee meeting to accept $2 million from the PNC Foundation to purchase snow removal equipment.
The donation will pay for 15 new snow removal vehicles. Already budgeted money in addition to funds now freed up by the $10 million donation from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will allow the city to buy 35 more. Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said city workers have also identified 20 vehicles in the city’s existing fleet that can be retrofitted for plowing and/or salt spreading. All told, the city will have 70 vehicles capable of removing snow.
Gilman said the vehicles will not be ready in time for any snow storms for the rest of this winter, but should arrive in time for next winter’s snow. He added that some of the new vehicles will be used year-round, including various sizes of pickup and dump trucks.
Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park asked for the city to put information online so that council members and the public can easily track purchases as they happen.
The donations from the PNC Foundation and UPMC bring the city’s possible fleet expenditures for 2026 to $27 million. Gilman said the mayor’s office has reached out to other local foundations to match their charitable missions with some of the city’s other needs.
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- City Council · February 4, 2026
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