Feeling the pressure of a coming vote on boosting the ailing pension fund, Pittsburgh City Council members Wednesday sparred over a proposed study of parking authority assets and how to cover the $250,000 tab.

In the end, the study received preliminary approval on a 6-1 vote. Councilman Ricky Burgess voted no, in part because he said the study would be financed from a "slush fund," while members Bruce Kraus and Theresa Kail-Smith abstained until they receive more information on the cost and other details.

"I agree that we need to have the work done" to evaluate Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's plan to lease parking assets to generate money for the city's underfunded pension, Ms. Kail-Smith said.

Also on Wednesday, Councilman Patrick Dowd described the mayor's plan as inadequate and proposed an alternative timetable for moving the lease plan through a vetting process -- a schedule that he said is designed to give council and the public a better opportunity to digest lease details.

Mr. Ravenstahl has proposed leasing parking garages and meters to the private sector with the aim of netting at least $200 million for a pension fund that's only 29.6 percent funded and in danger of state takeover. In all, the mayor's plan would involve the lease of about 18,000 parking spaces in a deal that council members say could span 50 years.

Most council members have reservations about the plan, and some have advanced alternatives -- which Mr. Ravenstahl has rejected -- for shoring up the pension fund.

The majority of council members Wednesday emphasized the need for a $250,000 study by Finance Scholars Group, saying they want outside information about the value of parking authority assets before casting what may be the most important vote of their lives.

"I'd like a little information. I don't think I'm asking for much there," Councilman Bill Peduto said.

Members said a botched lease plan could damage the city and scare away business; they and the mayor have acknowledged that a state takeover of the pension fund also could be disastrous for taxpayers.

The study would determine the value of the parking assets and evaluate the mayor's plan and other options, such as floating a bond for the pension fund or giving the pension fund outright ownership of certain parking garages.

Mr. Burgess called the study an "insincere" attempt to poke holes in and undermine the mayor's lease plan. When council budget director Bill Urbanic said the study would be funded with money left over from old capital projects, Mr. Burgess said he didn't know council had a "slush fund."

In all, Mr. Urbanic said, at least $800,000 remains from projects dating to 1996 or before. Mr. Burgess said the money should be used to pave streets or demolish dilapidated houses.

Council previously approved $50,000 for the study of parking assets. Council President Darlene Harris said she had expected additional funding from one of the city's two financial oversight boards, but it declined to help. Council also expected the Government Finance Officers Association to oversee the study, but it backed out.

In a letter Wednesday to pension fund solicitor Frederick Frank, Mr. Dowd said he wants council and the public to have an immediate look at a draft of the agreement that would spell out lease terms, including operating requirements and parking rate increases. Mr. Ravenstahl has offered only to make documents available sometime this month.

With Mr. Ravenstahl demanding a final vote on the lease plan in September, Mr. Dowd said, council needs information as soon as possible.

"This isn't a one-page document," Mr. Dowd said. "This is going to be hundreds of pages of complicated legalese."

Mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven said the draft agreement can't be provided to council because it's still being written.

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