Onorato Unveils Priorities for 2009

In a wide-ranging and optimistic address to the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato outlined the "state of the county" and some of his priorities for the coming year.
Onorato says now that he has been in office for 5 years it is getting harder to blame his predecessor for problems in the county, but it also allows him to toot his own horn a bit. Onorato points to progress made on turning old brownfields into shovel-ready sites and attracting businesses to them. He says he thinks experience gained in the 80’s as the steel industry faltered has made the region better able to deal with the current economic downturn. As he looks to the future… Onorato says he wants to work toward more city/county consolidation and he encourages other municipalities, fire companies and police departments to do the same. He says he is also looking to the federal government for help and has submitted 4 different stimulus package wish lists to be ready no matter what Congress passes.
Aiming to please his airport area audience Onorato also pointed out development around the airport and his efforts to position Pittsburgh as an alternative for airlines looking to avoid the congested east coast.

Onorato says he supports Governor Ed Rendell's idea of school district mergers but he is not sure if 100 is the right number. He says he thinks municipalities should do the same. He says of the 130 municipalities in the county 20-30 of them cannot support operations and should merge with others. He suggests it be done along school district lines. So instead of having 130 municipalities and 43 school districts in Allegheny County, he suggests having 43 municipalities, each with its own school district. He has also started a program to help defray one time costs associated with merging police and fire districts.