Report on city-county merger due out today The tight-lipped 13-member Advisory Committee to Enhance Efficiency and Effectiveness of County and City Government has reviewed city and county functions, studied regions that have merged, and spent months trying to build consensus and finalize language in a report.The place where a merger could and should happen next is PARKS.
City, county and university officials all refused to talk about the findings yesterday.
But better than a merger, we should move to create a new Park District that is not either the city nor the county nor the schools nor even the universities. Nor should the Park District be a 'tight-lipped' nonprofit without accountability that has Elsie Hillman (or some other nonprofit weenies) pulling the wires.
The new Pittsburgh Park District should be a public entity with elected trustees, a citizens' congress, a new model of cooperation as its own entity, working under the light of sunshine laws.
The Pittsburgh Park District is NOT a quick fix. But it is a logical next step in the overall blueprint.
People are willing to work together when it comes to places where we play together. We'll do great things for the sake of our kids.
We cherish the parks and crave real cooperation with an entity that isn't with a headquarters on Grant Street.
Full consolidation of city and county government could kill the region. Meanwhile, the new Pittsburgh, regional, Park District could be a major support system to the citizens and provide a base of experiences to work from as we merge government -- or not.
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Report on city-county merger due out today
Thursday, April 03, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Seventeen months ago, officials launched an effort that Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said would answer the question: "Should the city merge with the county?"
Today, Mr. Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg are expected to address that question when they announce the findings of a committee on government efficiency.
The tight-lipped 13-member Advisory Committee to Enhance Efficiency and Effectiveness of County and City Government has reviewed city and county functions, studied regions that have merged, and spent months trying to build consensus and finalize language in a report.
City, county and university officials all refused to talk about the findings yesterday.
Mr. Onorato has said he supports cooperation and potentially full merger if it results in lower costs and improved services for both city and county residents.
Mr. Ravenstahl has viewed the prospect of full merger with skepticism. After a July trip to Louisville, Ky., with committee members, he said there's "no quick fix, no blueprint" that would apply to Pittsburgh.
Some on the committee have favored full consolidation. They've had to wrestle, though, with the fact that state laws on municipal mergers exempt Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, meaning the rules of such a marriage have yet to be written.
Other barriers include the city's $768 million debt and approximately $490 million pension shortfall. Barring an infusion of cash from the state, that would have to be dealt with in any merger.
Some researchers have found that partial cooperation is easier and equally effective. The city and county already have merged 911 services, fingerprinting, courts and some purchasing.
The committee includes representatives of the mayor, county executive, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, labor and suburban municipalities. The report is not expected to address suburban consolidation.
Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.
First published on April 3, 2008 at 12:00 am
City-county merger study results to be detailed today
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 3, 2008
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A task force exploring whether Pittsburgh and Allegheny County should strive for a full-scale merger or stick to their custom of piecemeal unions will detail the results of its 17-month study today.
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg will join Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato in releasing the long-awaited report at a news conference set for 10 a.m. in the lower lounge of the William Pitt Union in Oakland.
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Members of the 13-member Citizens Advisory Committee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Government, which Nordenberg chairs, were tight-lipped Wednesday about what recommendations the report might contain.
Ravenstahl and Onorato declined to comment. Nordenberg was unavailable to talk about the study, said Pitt spokesman Robert Hill.
Ravenstahl, Onorato and Nordenberg announced the start of the city-county merger study Oct. 19, 2006.
Ravenstahl said he wanted the group to give "solid answers, rather than speculation" about ways to improve efficiency in both governments. He said past merger studies failed to answer the basic question, "Will there be a city and county merger?"
Onorato predicted at the time that any merger of government services would require voters' approval through referendums.
At least one committee that studied how to improve county government efficiency produced changes.
The Committee to Prepare Allegheny County for the 21st Century, commonly known as COMPAC 21, made recommendations in the mid-90s that voters eventually used to overhaul county government's leadership. The county's executive branch was changed from one led by a three-member commission to one led by an elected chief executive and 15-member council.
The city and county have edged toward merger several times since 2005:
= In October, the governments combined electricity purchases in a deal that could save each about $500,000 a year in power costs.
= In April 2007, Ravenstahl conducted a summit with mayors from across the state to discuss the possibility of merging Pittsburgh's anemic pension fund with the state's pension fund in hopes of strengthening its resources.
= In June 2006, then-Mayor Bob O'Connor's administration began pursuing a merger of city and county bulk purchasing departments, but those efforts haven't led to a combined city-county purchasing office.
= In late 2005, the city and county merged 911 dispatch centers in a move that saved the city about $1.5 million a year. The same year, county police took over fingerprinting suspects, and Pittsburgh's city court merged into the county system.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or 412-765-2312.
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Mayor Luke Ravenstahl should be thrown out as Mayor. I couldn't believe his quote in the Tribune Review on April 4th regarding the City/county merger. They talk about turning the City of Pittsburgh into an "Urban Services District" and then Ravenstahl states "The new "Urban Services Distict" would have their resident taxes raised! Is he for real? He should go with Dan Dan the Tax man Onorato...what a knucklehead.
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