Allegheny County Council is weighing two ordinances that would tighten up council’s oversight of county government. But at a meeting Tuesday evening, Council President Pat Catena referred both bills to the Committee on Government Reform for a second time, citing concerns from other county officials.
“There were several members that I talked to this afternoon that had some concerns and I’d like to talk to the administration again to see where we can work to find common ground,” Catena said.
The first bill would require county departments to submit job titles, salaries and other detailed budget information to County Council during the yearly budgeting process.
The second bill would require County Council to interview and confirm candidates for director-level positions appointed by the chief executive. If the candidate is not confirmed within 180 days of nomination, they would be ineligible for the position.
Catena, who sponsored both bills, said council’s concerns ranged from minor details, such as the number of days allotted for the confirmation period, to larger questions, like whether council has the authority to do anything with detailed salary information.
“There were some concerns about, ‘Are we really going to look at X amount of salaries and is there a better way to do this?’ And that’s why I want to go back to administration and talk to some of my colleagues to see what suggestions they have.”
Allegheny County spent over $360 million on salaries and pay for county employees in 2022, which accounts for about 42% of the county's total spending. Each department submits information about total personnel costs in the budget approved by council, but salaries are not currently broken down by position.
“Everyone agrees that, I think, this is very important for transparency purposes,” Catena said. “You hear that all the time that everyone wants to know what people are making, and obviously are we making the most informed decisions when we’re passing a budget? And I think that information provided to us would help us in that effort.”
Catena said the second bill would codify the confirmation process currently outlined in administrative code and “add additional teeth to make sure it happens moving forwards.”
The bills inspired spirited debate when discussed at the Committee on Government Reform meeting last week. Some council members expressed concerns that the measures could impede the power of current and future county executives. The committee ultimately voted to send both bills to council with affirmative recommendations.
In this second round of discussions, Catena said he hopes council will reach a “happy medium” that still gives council additional salary information and underscores its power to confirm nominees.
He said the committee might need some time to vet the bills.
“We need to have some preliminary discussions to see what everyone’s looking for,” Catena said. “And then after those preliminary discussions take place, then we talk to the administration to see what their concerns are. And then at maybe that point in time we try to reconcile the two and go back to committee at that point — that’s what I’m envisioning.”
Catena did not provide a timeline for when he hopes the full council will vote on the two bills.
