In the middle of the night on Monday, The Act 47 Coordinators sent a letter to City Council Members and the Mayor in anticipation of a resolution to support an amended Act 47 Five Year Recovery Plan for Pittsburgh.  The Act 47 Coordinators agreed to add 30 out of Council’s 42 amendments to the plan and took the initiative to thank City Council Finance Chairman Bill Peduto.

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 to approve a new five-year financial recovery plan for the City of Pittsburgh. Of the 42 amendments proposed by Council Members since the introduction of the original plan, 30 of these amendments were included in the final version of this bill.  

The 30 included amendments included:

• Pursue City-County consolidation of departments
• Implement a Professional Management System for street paving, street cleaning, snow removal, and refuse collection
• Explore the option of combining fleet maintenance contracts with the County
• Create and adopt comprehensive and facilities plan

Highlights of the approved financial recovery plan include:

• Create a Regional Parks Commission that oversees all RAD parks in the County
• Commit all slots parlor revenue windfalls to paying down debt
• Institute new guidelines to ensure truth in budgeting
• Investigate a .55% Payroll Tax on non-profits
• Go after waste, fraud, and abuse to collect taxes that are not being fairly paid
• Create a comprehensive Risk Management plan
• Provide City employees with a five-year plan for increase salaries
• Investigate the feasibility of keeping a North Side EMS station open 24 hours
• Keep the Greenfield Fire Station open
• Institute new initiatives to help with police retention and recruitment
• Institute new efforts to improve diversity and pay disparity in the City’s workforce

Last Wednesday, City Council took an important step forward to create a responsible and forward-thinking five-year financial plan. The original plan that was introduced by the Administration contained several clauses that greatly concerned City Council and lacked new initiatives to create a more efficient 21st century government.

Through the leadership of Council Finance Chair Bill Peduto, Council Members Bruce Kraus and Theresa Kail-Smith, and Controller Michael Lamb, City Council offered several important amendments to the Plan.  The amendments fall under four general categories - City-County Consolidation of Services, Budget and Taxation Reform, Government
Efficiency, and Public Safety.  Some of the key features of the amendments are:

City-County Consolidation of Services

• Invsetigate consolidation services in Fleet Maintenance, IT, Payroll, Purchasing, and Tax Collection
• Create a Regional Parks Commission that oversees all RAD parks in the County

Budget and Taxation Reform

• Committing all slots parlor revenue windfalls to paying down debt
• Instituting new guidelines to ensure there is truth in budgeting
• Institute a .55% Payroll Tax on non-profits
• Go after waste, fraud, and abuse to collect taxes that are not being fairly paid

Government Efficiency

• Create a Facilities Master Plan for all City owned buildings
• Create a Recreational Master Plan for City pools, recreation centers, senior centers, and ball fields 
• Create a Fleet Master Plan
• Create a comprehensive Risk Management Plan
• Institute re-routing software to improve efficiency in street paving, snow plowing, and street cleaning

Public Safety

• Provide City employees with a five-year plan for increased salaries
• Investigate the feasability of keeping a North Side EMS station open 24 hours
• Keep open the Greenfield fire station
• Institute new initiatives to help with police retention and recruitment

We took a month off from website updates after the May Primary election, but starting this week, we will be back to a regular schedule of new posts on this site.  Continue to stop by for regular updates!

Today, Councilman Bill Peduto, who serves as the finance chair for the Pittsburgh City Council,  published his comprehensive five year plan for Pittsburgh’s financial future.  

This plan has 7 main areas of emphasis, all of which are ultimately designed to solve our City’s financial problems.  The key points are:

•  Functional Consolidation of Municipal Services
• Statewide Administered Pension and Healthcare Reform
• Non-Profit Payroll Tax
• Regional Revenue Sharing and Local Tax Reform
• Baseline Audits/ Professional Management/ Outcome Based Performance
• Control of Long Term General Obligation Debt
• Initiatives to Create a Competitive Workforce

This plan was presented to Act 47 coordinators on April 28, 2009.

Read the Letter Here

Click Here to View the Attached Spreadsheet 

This summer, outdoor activity and public policy discussion will be combined into one new program from Venture Outdoors Pittsburgh.  Venture Outdoors and Councilman Bill Peduto are teaming up to create Pedal, Paddle, Peduto - and you can get in on the fun!

Join Councilman Peduto and local experts for the Three Rivers Kayaking Tour, the Downtown Bike Tour, the City Parks Walkabout - or all three - to enjoy Pittsburgh’s green spaces and learn about riverfront development,  architecture, urban design, and much more.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to both experience and learn about your city!  For more information, or to sign up, visit www.ventureoutdoors.org.

As the primary campaign comes to a close, we would like to thank everyone who helped us during the past three months.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered, not only for Councilman Bill Peduto’s campaign, but for the campaigns of our allies.  Thank you to everyone that administrated the campaign - Matt, Gloria, Julia, Kayla, Adam, and Scott.

This campaign was never just about May 19th, it has been about building a new, reform-minded, progressive movement in the City of  Pittsburgh.  Yesterday we took a giant step in that direction - now that is really moving the city forward!

Thank you again to everyone involved!

Don’t forget - Tuesday, May 19th is the Democratic primary election in the City of Pittsburgh!

Your local poll will be open from 7am to 8pm.
Not sure where to vote? Check your polling location here.

There are several important races on the ballot that will help decide the future of our City. Voting is the biggest way that you can let your voice be heard - don’t forget to go out and support your candidates!

Last night, several residents of City Council District 8 attended a reception with Councilman Bill Peduto at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
The group enjoyed food donated by local bakeries and restaurants, and live jazz by Matt Ferrante.
Thank you to everyone who came  out to support Councilman Bill Peduto’s reelection campaign, and to all of the fantastic volunteers!  Check out the flickr page for even more photos.

The Peduto for City Council campaign will be holding it’s last fundraiser before the primary election tomorrow night at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside.

May 14, 2009
7:00pm - 9:00pm
A suggested contribution of $100 per person is requested.

 
Come out and join us for an evening of live jazz by Matt Ferrrante, refreshments, and the Guided by the Ancestors quilt display by Tina Williams Brewer.  If you have been thinking about donating to the Peduto for City Council campaign, now is your chance!