Recovery on track: City Council comes through on Act 47 plan
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City Council did the right thing last week in approving a revised fiscal recovery plan that earned the necessary backing from state overseers. Now the action must shift to Harrisburg, where state legislators can solidify Pittsburgh's financial future by giving council and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl tools necessary to complete the comeback.
It is a relief to be at this point.
For a time leading up to Tuesday's final vote, it looked as if the five-year financial plan would not win approval from council by June 30, a step necessary both to prevent loss of state funds and to provide insulation in upcoming contract talks with fire and police unions. Only Councilman Ricky Burgess was a sure "yes" vote just after the plan was presented by the state Act 47 team. Fortunately, the actions of two political rivals working separately but toward the same goal resulted in a 6-3 affirmative vote.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Council Finance Chairman Bill Peduto share the credit for that, even though neither man is likely to characterize things quite that way.
Some council members wanted more direction from the mayor earlier in the process, and they made a silly point of complaining that he should return early from a week's vacation in mid-June to provide it. That wasn't necessary.
What was significant was that Mr. Ravenstahl subsequently made strong arguments for the plan, enunciating the high costs of failure and pledging not to raise property taxes to pay for it. And in the end he persuaded two allies -- outgoing council members Tonya Payne and Jim Motznik -- to vote for it.
Throughout the process, though, it was Mr. Peduto who kept everyone talking, always focused on the goal of writing not the best theoretical plan but the best practical plan, one that could get at least five votes necessary for adoption. While we felt the Act 47 team's plan was good for Pittsburgh as written, it would not have survived an up-or-down council vote. The amendments made passage possible -- Theresa Smith and Bruce Kraus joined Ms. Payne and Mr. Burgess, Mr. Peduto and Mr. Motznik in voting yes -- and the resulting plan will keep Pittsburgh on a disciplined path.
City officials have done their part; it's time for state legislators to finish the job they started five years ago. In 2004, as the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, the Legislature said Pittsburgh could impose a payroll preparation tax on employers and increase its annual head tax on people who work in the city to $52. The next step should be allowing the city to extend the payroll tax to nonprofit institutions and set the tax on workers at a more reasonable level of $145 a year.
First Published July 5, 2009 12:00 am
