Pittsburgh City Council

Two bills up for full votes in the state legislature would prevent municipalities from challenging the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofit organizations by transferring that power to the General Assembly.

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Council passed a resolution condemning Senate Bill 4 and its counterpart, House Bill 724. The former is up for a Senate vote on Wednesday.

Because the bill would change the state constitution, it would need to pass in two consecutive legislative sessions and be approved by a voter referendum.

  90.5 WESA reporter Noah Brode gives us a weekly look at Pittsburgh City Council. We talk about how council members hope to clean up police accounts and improve police staffing and promotions.

As the FBI continues its investigation of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau's handling of finances, the City Council is exploring whether there should be an overhaul of cash management policies citywide.

The FBI is looking into the depositing of checks meant for the police bureau into an unauthorized account at the Greater Pittsburgh Police Federal Credit Union.  Federal agents took records from the credit union and police finance and special events offices.

Pittsburgh City Council postponed voting on two bills sponsored by Councilwomen Theresa Kail-Smith and Darlene Harris that would create a "Secondary Employment Trust Fund" as a depository for money earned by police from off-duty jobs as well as create a flat reimbursement for that work.  The reimbursement would be taken out of the trust fund account.  

   90.5 WESA reporter Noah Brode gives us a look at this week's city council agenda which focuses on police bureau business. We'll talk about police administrative financing policies, minimum staffing requirements and new gunshot detection hardware.

Pittsburghers will have three more chances to buy hot dogs, T-Shirts and other paraphernalia after City Council gives final approval to three new vendor sites on Tuesday.

Council gave preliminary approval to the necessary legislation on Wednesday, and if approved next week, the three new vending sites will be advertised in local newspapers.

Although Pittsburgh City Council voted on Wednesday to fund a police education program at the Community College of Allegheny County, at least one Council Member raised questions about the necessity of a rule that requires all Pittsburgh police officers to have 60 college credits before joining the force - particularly for military members.

Pittsburgh has spent roughly $4 million since 2010 to merge its financial management system with Allegheny County's, and City Council on Wednesday approved $150,000 additional dollars for its new electronic database. Final approval is expected next Tuesday.

Pittsburgh Innovation Performance Manager Chuck Half said when it's implemented, the "JD Edwards" financial system from the software company Oracle, will save Pittsburgh money every time the city cuts a check to a city employee, a vendor, or a pensioner.

Last week Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced that he will not run for re-election. Councilman and mayoral candidate Bill Peduto joins us to talk about how he would like to build on Ravenstahl's legacy, what changes need to be made, and how to move the city forward.

  90.5 WESA reporter Noah Brode gives us the week's outlook for City Council and talks about reaction to Mayor Ravenstahl's announcement that he won't run for reelection.

Officials working with ARTPGH and DESIGNPGH presented City Council Tuesday with an update on their progress in creating guidelines to how city officials and artists can best plan urban art projects.

Maggie Connor, a Principal at Urban Design Associates and DESIGNPGH consultant, said to create their “urban design manual” they’ve made two management committees, had 13 public meetings, and put together a survey for the public. She said they’ve received a total of 2,500 comments.

90.5 WESA reporter Noah Brode gives us a look at how Pittsburgh city council is reacting to the resignation of police chief Nate Harper and attempting to push for police department transparency.

Last week, members of Pittsburgh city council proposed a bill that would allow the city to hire a consultant to advise on "examination and selection" policies for police officers.  Another bill would provide money to the Community College of Allegheny County for applicants to prepare for the examinations. Councilman Ricky Burgess has also introduced a measure that would require the bureau of police to publicize its operating procedures annually, to increase transparency.