Pittsburgh's fiscal future looks glum unless the city's fiscal overseers push broad reforms through a state Legislature suffering from "inertia," Mayor Tom Murphy said yesterday.

If ever enacted, Murphy's legislative wish list would change the way municipalities hire, fire, negotiate contracts, insure their workers' health and contend with expanding nonprofit institutions. But that day seemed far away yesterday, as upset legislators blamed the mayor for the city's chronic budget problems.

Speaking before the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, appointed by the state to help right the city's finances, Murphy bemoaned his inability to move the Legislature.

"You can't get people to make difficult decisions in the Legislature. Their energy goes into avoiding difficult decisions," Murphy said after meeting with the authority.

"I understand the mayor's frustration, but I think it is somewhat inaccurate to say we don't make difficult decisions," said state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill. He cited state help in financing stadiums and reforming the city's tax structure. "It's not a fair characterization to say that state legislators are sitting in an environment of inertia."

Frankel added that none of Murphy's long-term legislative concerns are "really on the near horizon to be resolved."

Murphy met with the authority to talk about the $415 million proposed budget he released Thursday. The authority's four board members had few specific questions.

"I think the mayor has done a credible job" of writing a realistic budget, said authority Chairman John Murray. The authority will accept or reject the budget within 30 days.

The mayor said the budget only pays for the bare necessities. "We also need the energy and the resources to grow the city, to work with the private market," said Murphy, who has subsidized much development.

Who can loosen the city's budgetary corset? Murphy pointed to Harrisburg.

He gave the authority, his successor and the state government a to-do list including:

Allowing cities to put their workers into the much larger state employee health insurance pool, which has lower per-employee costs.

Altering statewide civil service rules so cities could lay people off without regard to seniority, and update lists of job applicants more frequently.

Changing the formula by which state aid to municipal pension funds is calculated, so it no longer punishes cities that cut jobs and so it excludes municipalities that aren't fiscally distressed.

Compelling arbitrators who decide police and fire contracts to take city finances into account.

Requiring nonprofit entities, or the state, to pay cities something to offset revenue lost when properties become tax-exempt.

Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, said she has proposed a study on allowing municipalities to join the state health insurance system. But she said the city has created its own pension problems, and run up debt that "state legislation cannot remediate.

"To say there's been inertia by the Legislature is a gross distortion," she said. "We have put the city of Pittsburgh back on track."

Legislators in November approved a package of new taxes for Pittsburgh.

"Mayor Murphy and the city of Pittsburgh need to take significant steps to solve the mess he has put them in," said Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods. He said the city should sell Downtown properties owned by its redevelopment arm, and privatize emergency medical services and trash collection. He called for "a full-blown investigation" into the historic shorting of the city's pension fund.

Ongoing sniping between the mayor and legislators could complicate city efforts to change two pieces of legislation.

Murphy wants clarification of a tax collection law passed in July. He said it could be interpreted as forcing the city to lower the tax it charges when properties are sold, conceivably costing the city $12 million a year.

He also wants changes in pending legislation regarding collection of the $52 tax paid by those who work in the city. The legislation would reduce city collections by $4 million next year, he said.