Act 47 Recovery Team Warns Of Potential Budget Deficits - News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

The Act 47 dog and pony show visited Pittsburgh's city council this afternoon. I went to hear some of what they had to say.

Yesterday on Grant Street I saw Bill Urbanic, a finance guy who works for the city. I told him one thing to prepare for the meeting with the Act 47 Overlords. "Bill, tell the Overlords that I'd be willing to help them pack their offices and leave town. They should call me if they need help. Otherwise, I have very little to say to them. One of my top goals is to get the OVERLORDS out of town."

I'm not fond of the OVERLORDS. We need to get rid of them. The best way to send them packing is to be responsible stewards of the city's public money.

Act 47 Recovery Team Warns Of Potential Budget Deficits - News Story - WTAE PittsburghThe Act 47 team predicts that the city is less than three years away from returning to budget deficits and warns of a $6.6 million deficit in 2010 and $18.1 million deficit in 2011.

In today's meeting Jim Motznik asked about the length of time the overlords are planning to stick around. He wanted a future timeline as to their departure. Good question.

The answer came and it was all over the place. There wasn't a real answer to the question. There was no follow-up. There was Jim listening -- shaking his head up and down.

Then came a tough question from Jeff Koch. He wanted to know about working with the city or against the city. It was a teamwork question.

So the OVERLORDS spoke about how the state can come into a school district situation and take them over. The reply, hardly an answer to the question, was about a different matter fully. It had nothing to do with Pittsburgh's situation.

The answers do not match the questions. And, the ones that ask the questions are okay with those answers.

Meanwhile, the room was filled with firefighters in the audience. There wasn't a fire. There wasn't even the smell of burning rubber from deep thoughts from those around the table.

I'll watch the painful event, in full, tonight on cable.

Act 47 Recovery Team Warns Of Potential Budget Deficits - News Story - WTAE PittsburghJim Roberts of the Act 47 team said, 'Again, most of the issues that you've raised have a resolution only on the state level.'

Figures.

City Council is GREAT at ignoring its own problems, adding to its own mess, failing to look inwards. City Council is not interested in pulling its own weight. City Council, Luke Ravenstahl, Dan Onorato and others that have come and gone in the past are eager for bailouts from elsewhere.