Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak added her voice Tuesday to debate over the future of the city's capital-budget program.

On the heels of legislation sponsored by Councilman Ricky Burgess, Ms. Rudiak introduced a bill that she said was designed to give the public a bigger say in which streets get paved and which recreation projects are funded.

Ms. Rudiak called her bill the "Neighborhoods First Capital Budget Reform Act" because it's designed to shift decision-making from Grant Street to the neighborhoods.

The bill would require the city to re-establish a six-year capital plan, something she said the city had moved away from in recent years.

Each year, the mayor and City Council each would hold two public meetings to obtain citizen input on capital expenditures. The meetings would have to be held in "disparate locations."

Also, Ms. Rudiak said her bill would "stop the practice of hiding money" in the capital budget.

Money sometimes accumulates in capital accounts because projects, though budgeted for, never get off the ground. Council recently pooled $250,000 in unused funds from projects dating to the mid-1990s and earlier and allocated the money for a study of the city's parking garages and meters.

Ms. Rudiak said her bill would establish a "reconciliation committee" to periodically review capital accounts and redirect unspent funds to the city's general fund or other capital projects.

Mr. Burgess also has introduced legislation calling for a six-year capital plan and greater public participation in the planning process.

Among other provisions, his legislation would appoint two residents to the official planning committee, which also would include the mayor and top administrators. Council would have to hold at least six meetings a year to give community groups input on the plan.

Mr. Burgess will hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. today to discuss his proposals.

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