Plenty of work ahead for city/county merger

Oakland Councilman Bill Peduto said he would give up his job tomorrow if the city-county… Oakland Councilman Bill Peduto said he would give up his job tomorrow if the city-county merger proposed last week would guarantee a better government.

But he said his support and the success of the plan depends on how much say the public has.

The potential merger, which Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced last week, will eliminate the mayor and county executive’s office as well as all of city and county council positions as a new government is formed.

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg was also at hand during the report’s presentation as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of City-County Government.

The committee wrote the report in an effort to make Pittsburgh’s government more efficient, eliminate overlap in city and county services and jobs and help the city eliminate its debt dilemma.

Peduto said he has seen large plans such as this fail in the past when proposal were made expecting either a “thumbs-up or thumbs-down” decision without a middle ground. He wants to see the local government work with and listen to the public’s opinions.

“I expect to be very involved in making sure this is a real community process,” he said. “My role is to make sure the community feels ownership in the plan.”

Peduto said that at first he was worried because the plan was not very detailed. However, he realized the lack of specificity left room for input.

Kevin Evanto, Onorato’s spokesman, agreed the plans were left imprecise for a reason, and he said a lot of steps will be taken before the final plan is complete.

The mayor and county executive are currently trying to coordinate their schedules for a trip to Harrisburg to pitch the plan to the legislature.

If Harrisburg gives the nod, the city and county would then need to approve the plan, and public hearings and education campaigns would precede its placement on a public referendum.

Evanto said the preliminary response from the community and from various elected officials has been very positive.

“The county executive is a strong supporter of this,” Evanto said. “He was very happy and very encouraged when the mayor came out in strong support of this concept as well.

“We have a good track record of consolidation, cost savings and just general stream lining government.”

Evanto detailed the consolidations that have gone on since Onorato took office in 2003.

Evanto said there were five 911 centers in Allegheny County, but Onorato worked with suburban services, the city 911 system and the county 911 system to bring them together, saving $3.5 million a year.

The county also took over the city’s finger-printing services and consolidated the court system and many of the county row offices.

The city and county also signed a joint telecommunication contract, which is projected to save about $6 million over a three-year term.

The city-county consolidation would leave local municipalities intact. The public will still elect its own borough councils and township offices.

The merger would allow for new positions in lieu of the mayor, county executive and council members, such as a mayor of metropolitan Pittsburgh and a metropolitan council as the legislative body.

This is following the plan of the Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky., merger that was finalized in 2003.

Evanto said the Louisville plan left municipalities alone, which was very successful, but it’s unclear how similar its Pennsylvania protege’s plan will be.

Peduto is wary of the following the Louisville model and said other comparative models are the largest component missing from the report.

He explained that the Louisville government represented about 33 percent of Jefferson County, but another 33 percent was not under local government, whereas in Pittsburgh, “every inch” of Allegheny County is under a government.

“It still has to prove how it’s the best model,” he said, “not only for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County but for the entire region.”