Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl this morning told members of the state House Urban Affairs Committee that city-county merger remains the region's best hope for economic growth and survival in years to come.

"We must change if we are to grow again," Mr. Ravenstahl told the committee in its first public hearing on city-county merger, held in Point Park University's Lawrence Hall ballroom.

Both Mr. Ravenstahl and Mr. Onorato, who last month wholeheartedly endorsed a merger report released by University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, said the plan still faces a long and uncertain implementation process, but they are committed to seeing it through.

"We feel very strongly about this, but ultimately the voters will make the decision," said Mr. Onorato.

However, the merger plan, which could be placed on the ballot for a referendum as early as 2009, still faces a lot of questions, some of which were raised by members of the committee.

Key among their concerns, the group of state representatives from Allegheny County and other parts of the state said, is the question of how the 129 municipalities around Pittsburgh will be incorporated into the proposed merger, and whether the suburbs will be forced to take on the city's debt and its outstanding pension liabilities.

"The state might have to deal with the debt issue, which is not unique to Pittsburgh," said Mr. Onorato, adding that the merger plan specifically calls for the creation of an urban services district that would serve as the buffer between the city and its surrounding municipalities.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.