Topic
City Council
Since Nov. 17, residents can request a crisis team through 911. Under a new model, social workers from the Office of Community Health and Safety ride in pairs without police. Their response time averages 10 minutes, about the same as EMS, an assistant public safety director said. For now, though, the teams work only during weekday business hours.
City Council
The city doesn't fund the fire bureau's effort to give residents free smoke detectors. On Nov. 20, the fire chief said there's a backlog of 1,000 requests. Even so, his $20,000 request for detectors was denied in the preliminary budget. Like other public safety departments, the bureau also has too much overtime pay.
City Council
This year, the city approved police drone use in the field, and the bureau has now bought nine. The acting chief said they'll help officers gauge incidents, aid search and rescue, and document crime scenes. The money came from a trust fund that can only be used for unique purchases. Meanwhile, the mounted unit has eight new part-time riders.
City Council
The city's emergency medical services bureau has 15 paramedic vacancies. On Nov. 20, its chief said she hopes the city will someday open an in-house paramedic academy. However, the 2026 preliminary budget can't cover such a program. A deputy chief said the bureau has also spent $7.2 million on overtime this year, twice what was budgeted.
City Council
Roofs and heating and cooling systems at some recreation facilities, fire stations, and EMS headquarters are in critical or failing condition. On Nov. 19, public works officials told council the repairs need a little over $4.5 million. However, the proposed capital budget includes no money for them. For now, an assistant director said, the department has to wait until something fails.
City Council
City police still hand-write traffic tickets, and a police commander said manual entry causes a lot of errors. So the Department of Public Safety has asked council to let it use free ticketing software from state police. He said it would also ease reporting of traffic stop data, which a state law passed last year will require.
City Council
To replace its older, high-mileage vehicles, the city would need about $22 million a year, according to its fleet manager. An Oct. 15 report, the first of its kind, found police, EMS, and trash vehicles are the most overused. The fleet manager recommended speeding up their replacement. Council's budget director suggested a dedicated fleet fund, but council didn't plan any immediate action.
City Council
Brookline Memorial Park's busy playground has broken equipment, some of it roped off, a council member said. Now, he wants to spend $415,000 in interest savings on playground upgrades and a garbage truck. Still, a 2023 controller's analysis ranked the park near the bottom of the priority list. Another council member said her district needs playground upgrades too.
City Council
An overlooked liquid fuels trust fund has money that could go toward new snowplows. A council member proposed moving $750,000 from that fund to the Equipment Leasing Authority. She said that should cover four new plows. Council moved the bill forward on a seven to two vote.
City Council
Some city residents went nine days without power after the April 29 storm. Five months later, a Duquesne Light official told council the storm did more damage than the company usually sees in a year. The company will invest $2.7 billion over five years, he added. Still, a state utility commission official said burying most city power lines won't be feasible.
City Council
Since 2015, a private company has run the city's police promotion exams for sergeant and lieutenant. Council now plans to take up a $74,000 extension so it can run them again next year. The company gives written and oral exams. It also brings in outside officers of the same rank or higher to assess candidates.
City Council
Following weeks of public comment, City Council is poised to spend $1.8 million on a master plan to potentially build an $86 million public safety training facility in the Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood.
City Council
Co-response teams pair social workers with police on mental health calls, but only weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They also cover just three of the city's six police zones. Now, the Department of Public Safety wants council to approve a $483,000 nonprofit donation for Downtown coverage. The public safety director said it would mainly pay for police overtime.
City Council
The city pays to keep video cameras and related equipment on a Mount Washington condominium roof. Council voted to support a new five-year, $105,600 deal, though it still needs final adoption. A council member said it was the first she'd heard of the cameras. A city official said the cameras there monitor traffic and can't zoom in on license plates or faces.
City Council
Drivers at six city intersections picked using crash data could get red light camera tickets starting in early 2026. Council gave preliminary approval to the system, which would run under a five-year, $14 million contract. A city transportation official said ticket money will pay for the program. However, she said the city still pays if fines fall short.
City Council
Neighbors have wanted a new fire station in Lincoln Place for decades, a council member said. Now, Public Works has asked council for $4.5 million more to move Fire Station 20 there from a floodplain in Hays. That would bring the total cost to $17.7 million. Still, the station will have a small community room instead of the community center neighbors wanted.
City Council
A bill on a proposed public safety training campus is on hold for another two weeks. At council's Sept. 3 committee meeting, 26 people spoke against the campus and two were neutral. Earlier that day, 39 people spoke in support of the Oakland DIY Skatepark and one against. For now, there's no new skatepark legislation on council's upcoming agenda.
City Council
Thirty-nine community groups are in line for about $1.7 million from the Stop the Violence Fund. Council gave preliminary approval, though two members said seven groups didn't meet all funding criteria. A city supervisor said community need came first where a neighborhood has only one provider. Before next Tuesday's final vote, council will get a written rationale for the exceptions.
City Council
Properly maintaining the city's vehicles would take $10 to $15 million a year. The five-year budget outlook, however, allows for only $3 million a year. This week, council approved more oversight, including a yearly fleet report before each budget. It'll list repair costs per vehicle and flag any vehicle whose upkeep reached 30% of its purchase price.
City Council
During the April 29 storm, overloaded cell networks left 911 effectively out of reach. On July 23, city and county officials briefed council on the storm response. A county emergency chief said the region's 911 systems got 25,000 calls in the first four hours, Pennsylvania's usual daily total. Next, council will hear about Duquesne Light's response on Sept. 18.