Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato is standing pat in his vow to withhold nearly $28 million from the Port Authority until a new labor agreement is negotiated, even if it it forces the mass transit agency to shut down.

Mr. Onorato told members of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce this morning that without a competitive labor agreement, the Port Authority is headed for bankruptcy, even if it gets the $27.7 million. The release of the money would only delay the inevitable, he argued.

The $27.7 million is needed to qualify for $184.5 million in state matching funds.

"If I release that money today and nothing changes, the Port Authority shuts down next year," he said in meeting with reporters afterwards.

Mr. Onorato said that under the terms of the transit union's expired contract, under which it is still working, the Port Authority eventually would run out of money. He argued that a fact-finder's recommendations, accepted by the authority's board but rejected by the union's leadership, would have been a "fair deal, not a perfect deal" and would have put the agency on better financial footing.

If the authority does shut down, he said, it won't be because he withheld the money but because the two sides were unable to work out acceptable contract terms.

"It's not Dan Onorato stopping it," he said.

Meanwhile, county Councilman Charles McCullough, R-Upper St. Clair, told the gathering he will propose legislation Tuesday that would force the Port Authority into a Chapter 9 bankruptcy reorganization that would allow labor terms and other costs to be reworked. However, such a move not only would require county approval but the backing of the state General Assembly.

Onorato said he opposed that proposal.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.