On Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 to approve a new five-year financial recovery plan for the City of Pittsburgh. Of the 42 amendments proposed by Council Members since the introduction of the original plan, 30 of these amendments were included in the final version of this bill.  

The 30 included amendments included:

• Pursue City-County consolidation of departments
• Implement a Professional Management System for street paving, street cleaning, snow removal, and refuse collection
• Explore the option of combining fleet maintenance contracts with the County
• Create and adopt comprehensive and facilities plan

Highlights of the approved financial recovery plan include:

• Create a Regional Parks Commission that oversees all RAD parks in the County
• Commit all slots parlor revenue windfalls to paying down debt
• Institute new guidelines to ensure truth in budgeting
• Investigate a .55% Payroll Tax on non-profits
• Go after waste, fraud, and abuse to collect taxes that are not being fairly paid
• Create a comprehensive Risk Management plan
• Provide City employees with a five-year plan for increase salaries
• Investigate the feasibility of keeping a North Side EMS station open 24 hours
• Keep the Greenfield Fire Station open
• Institute new initiatives to help with police retention and recruitment
• Institute new efforts to improve diversity and pay disparity in the City’s workforce