Topic
City Council
The $20 million donation from Highmark Health will cover purchasing 13 new fire trucks. Because the donation will be split over five years, the Equipment Leasing Authority requested council’s approval to enter into a financing agreement for the trucks. Buying them all at one time allows for a price discount, though the city will have to pay a little more than $2 million in interest on the financing.
City Council
Today, the city can sign some big contracts without a council vote. That's how a $6.5 million deal with ShotSpotter went through last year. On Oct. 21, a bill requiring council approval for such multi-year contracts over $30,000 failed. It advanced, however, after the limit was raised to $1 million.
City Council
Council is studying how governments use surveillance tools, including the city's license plate readers and police cameras. On Sept. 21, speakers warned that surveillance technology can threaten civil rights. An Austin council member said his city struggled to regulate it and canceled its license plate reader contracts. A Carnegie Mellon expert said the city's report felt incomplete because it skips independent agencies like the schools.
County Council
Medical emergencies at the Allegheny County Jail are climbing, and the jail is short on staff. On Sept. 8, three county council members proposed letting sheriff's deputies use leg shackles during medical transport and care. That would soften a 2021 ban on shackling people held at the jail. For now, the proposal sits with council's public safety committee.
City Council
As Pittsburgh readies more red light cameras, council wants to know more about their surveillance abilities. The city's transportation director said the cameras capture only license plates. He said the city owns the data and destroys it within 30 days after a case ends. On Sept. 9, council also advanced a bill letting drivers pay tickets online and request hearings by phone or internet.
City Council
Pittsburgh's finances slipped further in the second quarter. On Sept. 1, a budget official told council the projected year-end deficit has grown to $30.2 million from $24.4 million. Finance staff said the NFL Draft likely cost the city at least $1 million. Still, the budget official was more hesitant than in June to say the outlook would improve.
City Council
A South Side council member said his district looks like a jungle this year, largely because crews lack trailers. On Sept. 2, council agreed to move forward with buying 12 new landscaping trailers for nearly $60,000. Crews have only two now to haul lawn and snow equipment. The acting fleet manager said a dozen is the minimum to work efficiently.
City Council
Violence prevention money could pay for programs at another rec center. Council advanced a request for $200,000 from the Stop the Violence fund for McKinley Recreation Center in Beltzhoover. On July 28, a similar request for Glen Hazel's rec center won final approval. The council president has backed these requests, but he said rec centers don't attract the youth most at risk of gun violence.
City Council
EMS crews from nearby municipalities helped cover April's NFL Draft, and those towns billed Pittsburgh about $27,000. Now, council has approved those bills along with six other invoices. The budget director assumed a $2 million VisitPittsburgh grant would cover them but couldn't confirm it. For now, the controller is preparing a report on the draft's impact, a council member said.
City Council
The intersection of Larimer Avenue and Meadow Street sees heavy traffic. On July 15, council advanced an agreement letting a community group install a street mural there. Such murals are meant to calm traffic, and a 2022 study found intersections with art saw 50% fewer crashes involving pedestrians.
County Council
Allegheny County Jail Warden Trevor Wingard leaves at the end of July after 18 months. Now, it's up to the county executive and the Jail Oversight Board to find his replacement. The county executive will name an interim warden before he leaves. A search for a permanent warden begins within a few months, a council member said.
County Council
Allegheny County has been awarded $2.15 million in state money for alternatives to incarceration. On July 9, a council committee voted to move forward with accepting it. The grant would pay for two probation officers, a hearing officer, staff training, and equipment. Council's final vote is set for July 14.
City Council
Right now, Saundra and James Cole run children's activities at Glen Hazel's Burgwin Recreation Center, but that's no longer sustainable. On July 8, 16 residents, including six children, came to council to back funding programs there. The area's council member argued the Stop the Violence fund should pay. Council held the bill two weeks to give the mayor time to work toward a solution.
City Council
Student ambassadors in six Pittsburgh public high schools work to interrupt violence, but the program's state grant has ended. On July 1, council agreed to move forward with a $250,000 deal to keep it going this fall. The council president said that should cover about six months. Still, the school district hasn't authorized money to continue it.
City Council
City outreach workers could soon get a wheelchair van to help residents with disabilities. Council moved forward with the request on July 1. Meanwhile, unexpected repairs to the city's aging fleet are on track to cost almost $5.3 million this year, against $3.9 million budgeted. The acting fleet manager said new vehicles should help bring those costs down.
City Council
Council is weighing whether the Stop the Violence fund should pay for youth programs at Glen Hazel's Burgwin Recreation Center. Until recently, volunteers ran afterschool and summer programs there, but that's no longer sustainable. Some council members were uneasy using the fund without following its guidelines. For now, council has held the request for two weeks.
City Council
Learn and Earn, the city's youth jobs program, has run only in summers. A $1 million Richard King Mellon Foundation grant will fund a year-round pilot starting this fall. Younger teens would get work exposure, and 18- to 23-year-olds would get hands-on job training. On June 24, council advanced using the Stop the Violence fund for the required $1 million match.
City Council
The Fern Hollow Bridge had been federally listed in poor condition since 2011 before it collapsed in January 2022. Now, nine people who sued the city over the collapse may share $445,000 in settlements. Resolutions to approve the payments, from $40,000 to $90,000 each, were introduced in council June 16. A preliminary vote is scheduled for next week's committee meeting.
City Council
ROOTS, a city outreach team, connects homeless residents with shelters and medical and mental health care. On June 17, council advanced an $800,000, one-year county contract to expand it. Currently, it runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 16 staff. The money would add 10 staff and extend hours to 11 p.m. on weeknights, plus some weekend daytime coverage.
County Council
Federal protections against sexual abuse cover transgender people in jails, but an Allegheny County Council member said they may be removed. Her proposed ordinance would write those protections into county law for the jail and juvenile detention center. It would also set a zero-tolerance standard for rape. On May 14, a council committee unanimously recommended it for a final vote.