Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Newly-installed Common Pleas Judge Tom Flaherty, top photo, right, receives his judicial robes from his parents, John, left, and Lucille after his swearing-in at the City-County Building. Then Mr. Flaherty, the former Pittsburgh controller, got a hug from long-time Deputy Controller Anthony J. Pokora, bottom photo. At left is long-time Controller's office solicitor David Armstong. At right is Pittsburgh Mayor-elect Bob O'Connor and Pa. Lt. Gov. Katheine Baker Knoll. Click photos for larger versions.

He's been the uncontrollable controller. Now Tom Flaherty is leaving city government with deep concerns about the future of the institution he's watchdogged since 1984.

"The city as we know it isn't going to continue," he said last week, prior to his swearing-in as a Common Pleas Court judge yesterday. "I really don't see good days ahead for the government of the city of Pittsburgh, as far as revenue is concerned, and revenue is the bottom line."

His pessimism wasn't universally shared. Gene Ricciardi, leaving City Council after 15 years, said yesterday the city is "well-positioned to move ahead in its future, in terms of its success and also in terms of quality of life."

Mr. Ricciardi, who was council president for nearly four years, will begin work as a district judge next week. In his going-away speech, he called outgoing Mayor Tom Murphy "a very fine mayor, and I know that history will be very kind on his legacy."

Ten-year council veteran Sala Udin also said goodbye yesterday in a brief speech thanking his colleagues and constituents.

Judge Flaherty, who blasted wasteful spending, corporate subsidies and budgetary chicanery for 22 years as city controller, pointed to trends that he said could conspire to weaken and even eliminate city government.

The chief conspirator, he said, is stagnant revenue. The city is projected to bring in $418 million next year, or almost exactly what it captured this year. In 2007, gambling revenue is expected to boost the bottom line by $12 million, but that isn't guaranteed.

He said the state-appointed Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Act 47 recovery team have forced budget cuts but "don't want to deliver any new revenue."

A state-approved tax shift that took effect this year added at least $22 million to city coffers, but it was less than officials sought, and it came partly at the expense of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Budget cuts have hit employees hard, he said, by freezing wages and boosting health insurance contributions. "I've talked with city employees and a lot of people are talking about leaving. You're going to lose a lot of good people."

Nowhere could the effect be greater than in the offices of the city's elected leaders -- mayor, controller and the nine members of council. Their offices spent a combined $7.3 million in 2002, but are budgeted at just $5.1 million next year.

City officials now have to negotiate with state overseers to make policy decisions, he said. That serves to "undercut the authority of the public officials," he said, which in turn affects the kind of person who pursues public office. A council that was once heavy with lawyers is increasingly blue-collar.

With two state overseers watching the budget, council members "are going to have to compromise more than they ever did in the past," said Mr. Ricciardi. "Council is going to be out of the loop" on many matters.

All city elected offices have cut or are considering cutting staff. Wages have been stagnant, and state overseers want elected officials and other nonunion workers to pay more for health insurance than the $11 to $229 per month they now contribute.

"Hitting the nonunion employees and the elected officials, you weaken them up, and the rest falls," Judge Flaherty said. "I think the intent is to weaken the city so much that it's just a shell and you can transfer it into the county."

To some, budget cuts and merger talks would seem good news. But the way Judge Flaherty sees it, any merger the county might agree to would still leave Pittsburgh residents paying for the city's huge pension and debt costs.

"I don't know what [city residents] are going to get out of it," he said. "They're going to lose autonomy. They're going to lose their government. They're going to lose representation."

The public isn't focused on such issues, he said. The city "very well could have really bad times in the next few years, and it's sort of crazy [that financing a new] arena is the priority issue."

Judge Flaherty will be assigned to family court, with a courtroom on the City-County Building's seventh floor.

With his departure and those of Mr. Ricciardi and Mr. Udin, there will be just one official in city hall come January with more than five years in elected office: incoming Mayor Bob O'Connor, who spent 11 years on council.