Details of a social benefits package for the city's OnePGH resilience strategy should be public by mid-October, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday.
“We’re pretty much done with the details of what the specific programs are that are being addressed over a 12-year period,” Peduto said.
The mayor announced the OnePGH plan in April. Since then, the estimated cost of the initiative to tackle the big challenges facing the city has risen from $3 billion to $4 billion.
Mayor Bill Peduto spoke to WESA's Kevin Gavin as part of an extended conversation on The Confluence. Hear their full conversation at 9 a.m. Friday on 90.5 FM.
“We have found from a culmination of reports that there are critical needs of this city that, if left unaddressed or without some pro-active activity, will create greater disparity within the future of Pittsburgh, and disparity being one of the single stresses that could have an adverse effect of the city’s future,” he said.
According to Peduto, those critical needs include water and sewage infrastructure, hunger, affordable housing, transportation to get people to their jobs and universal pre-K education.
He said the city should partner with corporations, foundations, major non-profits and all levels of government.
“We’re not looking to create another layer of government,” Peduto said. “We’re looking to do is to empower those who are already working on those issues to do more.”
The mayor said he has begun reaching out, and while no exact dollar amounts are ready to be announced, they are more inclined to support the goals and vision of One PGH than previous efforts to contribute towards Pittsburgh’s general operating budget.
“These are the critical issues that will determine either whether we have a successful Pittsburgh for some or a successful Pittsburgh for all over the next decade.”
