Pittsburgh Councilman Patrick Dowd plans to ask tough questions about finances at the city's development agency today, after saying yesterday that the late passage of its budget was "unethical" and its shift of funds to the city coffers raises concerns.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority budget issue emerges as City Council and the mayor increasingly spar over public process.

"This is about how the city does its business," Mr. Dowd said. "Do we follow what we know are right and proper procedures?"

"It's not my intention to have government come to a squeaking halt on these issues," Mr. Ravenstahl countered. "We need to keep moving these things forward.

"There's a reason we're losing population, losing young people, losing opportunities, and a lot of the time that's government's inability to be as responsive as it needs to be, and that has to change."

Last week, Mr. Dowd put a hold on legislation that would formalize the transfer of state funds through the city to the URA, saying he wanted to see the agency's budget first. The URA board then passed a budget, and council got it Friday. Today, the councilman plans to bring the legislation back to the table and question the budget, starting with its timing.

"The budget was not delivered for the first 20 percent of the year," Mr. Dowd said. "For a public entity to not have a budget for 20 percent of the year is, I think, unethical."

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, a URA board member, said the agency has a new executive director, Pat Ford, and has been "playing catch-up a little bit." He defended the budget as including funding for expanded Main Street improvements, grants to neighborhoods that have long done without, and new positions like a sustainable design expert.

Mr. Dowd said that the $10.3 million administrative budget, which does not include the money to be spent on bricks-and-mortar projects, includes $2.8 million that looks like one-time, unsustainable revenue. That includes the tapping of $1.5 million in repayments of loans made with federal funds.

The budget also includes a $1.5 million payment to the city.

Someone could conclude that there's "a financial shell game here, and federal money is being used to fund the city," Mr. Dowd said.

"Whether or not that [payment to the city] can be sustained over future years, that's questionable," said Mr. Ferlo, D-Highland Park. "You're really raiding the city's economic development agency."

The budget includes an 11 percent boost in staff spending, in part to fund creation of a Center for Planning and Development. Council members have been concerned that the URA may be usurping the role of the city Planning Department, and Mr. Dowd said the center could be redundant.

Mr. Ferlo said he did not view the new center as duplicative but would probably do master planning for development areas.