Appeal for station denied

While some of Pittsburgh’s police officers are left wondering whether or not they will have… While some of Pittsburgh’s police officers are left wondering whether or not they will have jobs to go to every morning, Pittsburgh’s city councilmen have been working hard to restore some of the recent losses to the police force.

Mayor Tom Murphy, along with most of Pittsburgh’s city councilmen, recently agreed upon the 2004 budget, hoping to change the uncertainty facing city officers.

Murphy decided not to veto the budget, allowing it to be enacted by city council on Dec. 31, 2003 and to become a law without his signature. The Pittsburgh City Council has agreed to amend the budget to satisfy the concerns of Murphy.

By putting 900 police back on the streets after the police officer recall that occurred last summer, the city council hopes to maintain the safety of Pittsburgh’s streets, according to City Council President Gene Ricciardi.

City Councilman Alan Hertzberg of District 2 has campaigned with the West End Home Assurance Value in hopes of reopening the West End police station, located near the West End Circle in Pittsburgh.

On Aug. 29, 2003, the former Zone 4 police station in the West End closed down because of Pittsburgh’s recent budget cuts.

“It’s not just that station building, it’s the backup of officers where we are hurting – for example, investigative work,” Hertzberg said.

The zone changes also affected Oakland. Once included in the former Zone 6, the Oakland area has been combined with several parts of other former zones to form the new Zone 4. The other parts of the new Zone 4 came from the Hayes and Gates Manor sections, which were left over when the former Zone 3 and Zone 4 were combined.

According to Hertzberg, when the police get a call about rowdy kids on the street somewhere, it has become less of a priority than it once was because of the diminished police force. The call gets answered “much more slowly, if at all,” he said.

Once the decision was made to close the West End station, Hertzberg joined the West End Home Assurance Value in appealing to the commonwealth court to get the station reopened.

Their appeal was denied after a morning-long hearing on Jan. 13.

“The administration has not worked with me at all,” Hertzberg said. “They are working on turning the [former West End] station into a curfew and truancy center [known as the Safety Zone Center].”

The Safety Zone Center, for children under the age of 17 who break curfew, is currently located Downtown on Grant Street.

The most significant change that will result from the 2004 budget is a 50 percent increase on parking tax, effective February 1, 2004. The parking tax increase will be elaborated upon at a later date.

“There has been great cooperation and partnering between the Mayor and the council, which has culminated in [Murphy’s] decision not to veto the budget,” Ricciardi said.

City Councilman Jim Motznik said, according to a press release from Hertzberg’s office, “The unintended result of city council’s budget process was the cutting of essential services; with Mayor Murphy’s involvement during the last week, this new amended budget will restore those services.”