Parking rates would rise under Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's plan to privatize garages and meters, but a committee that is meeting today might have some say over how high they could go, and how fast.

Some members of an advisory committee on the mayor's parking lease plan want to restrict any eventual private operator's ability to boost prices.

"We recognize that rates could go up," said Michael Edwards, a member of the committee and president of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. But the city should make sure hikes are gradual rather than having "a private operator coming in and doing whatever the heck they want."

There's also sentiment for demanding ongoing payments from a private operator, while allowing the city to continue to build public garages.

City Finance Director Scott Kunka cautions that if the city wants to raise the nine-figure sum needed to right its pension fund, it needs to be careful about the conditions it puts on a lease. "The more that you take up front, you're going to get less on the back end," he said.

The garage lease plan is driven by a pension shortfall, approaching $750 million, that was the subject of a City Council meeting Thursday.

The city's pension fund contained $267 million at the end of last year, Mr. Kunka told council. The city is in the process of recalculating its long-term pension obligations, which were $899 million last year, but are probably now $1 billion, he said.

A state law passed last year would have a state agency seize the city's pension fund, and probably force higher annual contributions, unless it contains enough to cover half of its obligations by next year.

Mr. Ravenstahl's solution is to lease 11 garages with nearly 9,000 spaces, and maybe a similar number of spaces at parking meters and in lots, to a private firm for decades, hopefully netting $200 million. He also wants to raise $15 million a year in new revenue, possibly through new taxing powers.

Councilman Patrick Dowd, a member of the advisory committee, said he wants to explore whether the garage lease could bring both the lump sum and the annual revenue. "This isn't just about a one-time infusion of cash," he said. "This is about a sustainable solution."

The city could insist on an annual payment from the private operator, or a share of profits above a certain level, he said.

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority, which owns the garages, last week asked firms interested in leasing them to send in their qualifications by March 19. Those with the capacity to make the payment and run the garages would then be invited to submit bids. If two or three bids were within 10 percent of each other, those contestants would be invited to submit "a final and best offer," Mr. Kunka said.

He said rates should be allowed to rise to market rates -- which are roughly 50 percent higher than the authority's -- but in phases so there isn't a price shock.

A private operator, he added, will want assurances that the Parking Authority won't lease its garages, only to turn around and build new ones that would compete with the old.

Mr. Dowd, though, said the authority should keep the right to build new garages, notably Downtown. "In order to hold together the core of this region, we need a city that, for commuters and residents, is a viable place to drive to and park."

Controller Michael Lamb agreed, saying there would be no incentive for a private operator to build new garages Downtown.

Street meters, Mr. Lamb added, should not be part of the lease, since neighborhood business districts depend on low parking rates. "I think we would be better off dealing with a local entity than we would with Goldman Sachs," or another firm that might lease the meters, he said.

Fred Frank, an attorney for the city pension fund who is guiding the advisory committee, said it aims to have the "guiding principles" for a lease in place by the first week of March.

"I feel like this process is moving very, very quickly, without any public input," said Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, a member of both the advisory committee and the Parking Authority board. She adding that rates "could potentially skyrocket. ... I'd hope that all of us collectively, with the academic community, and the public, start paying attention."

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