Council Looks to Liberate $0.7 Mill

A budget fight between a few Pittsburgh City Council members and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl could boil down to semantics. Councilman Bill Peduto, who is also the Council Finance Committee Chairman, has introduced a bill that he thinks will free up for future capital projects about $700,000 locked in a G20 account. However, the mayor’s budget office says the money does not exist.

Peduto says the council encumbered $12.8 million to pay for the Pittsburgh G20 Summit in September of 2009 but it only spent $12.1 million. Peduto says that leftover money could be used elsewhere. His bill would close out the account and move the funds back into the capital budget. The move seems to stem from the administration’s reluctance to pay for some capital projects saying there is not enough money in the account.

“They are basically looking at over the past 15 years all the different projects that have come through. Some of them have already been completed and there are funds leftover,” says Peduto. “If you account for all of those, of course there is no money.” The administration has said that there is $66 million in capital projects waiting for money and just $28 million in the bank.

Peduto says it is time to start clearing the city’s books before it switches over to a new accounting system later this year.

The administration agrees with the idea of the bill but differs with Peduto when it comes to the impact the bill will have. The Budget and Finance Department says it is good book keeping to clear out old projects but it feels the action will not actually move any money.

Peduto says this is just the first of several bills like this that he will be introducing in the coming months. “We need to start getting things like this out and the G20 is a very easy one for people to understand because it was recent, it is over, it was an event that occurred and for the past couple of years now we have not been paying any bills yet we still have about $700,000 left in that account.”

The bill will come up for debate Wednesday.

Capital Cash Might be Hiding

Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb went before City Council Tuesday to talk about the 2011 budget and wound up giving the members a lesson in how the city could find millions of dollars hiding in old accounts. It was the first of three post agenda meetings focused on city finances sponsored by City Councilman Bill Peduto.

The city has been using old bond money and end-of-year balances to fund capital projects since a pay-as-you-go system was adopted in 2006. It was an effort to bring down the city’s debt load. The 2011 budget calls for $25 million in capital spending but Controller Lamb says there is only about $13 million in the account. However, he says there could be a few million floating around from projects that came in under budget or were never started. “We are not diligent enough, our departments are not diligent enough, in reporting back to the finance department, ‘this project is closed, we don’t need these funds any more, we’re done with this project,’ and so we need to enforce that and maybe it will require legislation to do so,” says Lamb.

Council members reported that the finance department is rejecting some capital expenditures that are in the budget because it feels the funds have not yet been placed in the proper budgets.

Lamb also noted that there could be a budget surplus at the end of the year that could be used for capital needs. “We just finished the first quarter of 2011 and in the first quarter we have outpaced that same quarter, from a revenue standpoint, from 2010,” says Lamb. “We have seen increased revenues come in in the property tax and in most of our other major tax sources.”

Helping matters on the capital side of the budget is the decision by the ICA last week to free up gambling revenues for urgent capital needs including paving and police equipment purchases. Lamb says there could be some other funds on the way as well. “If we receive the 5 million or so in state and federal reimbursements that we are due and then also receive the 9 million from the sale of the municipal court building, then that might be enough for this year,” says Lamb.

The second budget post agenda meeting will focus on the budget over then next six years, and the final meeting will look at longer-range issues.

ICA Faces He Said - She Said on City Budget

The members of the Pittsburgh Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority sat looking a bit befuddled this afternoon as City Councilman Bill Peduto read to them a letter he wrote to the mayor regarding parking revenue. The ICA requested that City Council Finance Committee Chairman Bill Peduto come before the board to explain why the city’s budget was sliding out of balance.

The mayor had recently brought up the issue of less than expected payments from the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. The money is expected to help make payments to the city’s pension fund. Peduto laid the issue squarely at the feet of the Parking Authority Board, which he says is the only body that can raise parking rates and install new parking meters as is required. Peduto says the budget does not anticipate the $1.3 million in payments in lieu of Taxes (PILOT) until the 4th quarter. The idea was to allow the Authority time to get the new rate structure in place and install new parking meters capable of collecting the higher charges.

During the pension and parking debate last year, the council set a new parking rate schedule that Peduto says more than covers the increased PILOT. “There is an additional amount that goes directly to the Parking Authority so they can afford things like maintenance and improvements. It’s not as if we are just raising the rates or proposing to raise the rate just to break neutral,” says Peduto.

Peduto says the board should act quickly so it can bring in much more than the 1.3 million anticipated.

At the same time, Ravenstahl Administration Budget Director and Parking Authority Chair Scott Kunka says the Authority cannot simple act on numbers that were part of an ongoing debate in council. “A prime architect of the council plan, Councilwomen Rudiak, is a member of the Parking Authority, now we’ve had three meetings already this year and she has not once brought this mater up to the Parking Authority Board,” says Kunka. Kunka says they need to hear directly from the council what the proposed rate structure should be.

ICA Board Chair Barbara McNees says, “ We are going to have to do some analysis on this, see where everybody is on this, talk to [Peduto] talk to the mayor and see where the division of responsibilities lie.” It is not the ICA’s job to determine parking rates but it is responsible for making sure that the budget stays in balance. “The budget as passed depends on the implementation of some of this,” says McNees, “If that s not going to occur, we don’t want a budget that’s out of balance… so those are the questions we need to ask.”

Download a copy of the letter Councilman Peduto read into the ICA record here.

City Streetlights Could Change

Pittsburgh City Council has taken the first step toward creating the city’s first-ever lighting code and at the same time moved down the path toward installing new LED streetlights in every business district.

In May of 2008, the city launched a test project to install LED streetlights on half of Walnut Street in Shadyside. The experiment was well received by most and since then, various council members have been pushing for more. The city is sitting on an $800 thousand state grant to help put new lights in all of the city’s approximately 30 business districts and councilman Bill Peduto says the grant expires if the work is not put out to bid this spring. “Our goal is to get this lighting code passed, be able to then to go forward in April with Carnegie Mellon University, who we have hired as part of that grant, to map out what that new lighting system would look like for all of our business districts and by June to issue the first [request for proposal] to begin the installation of those lights,” says Peduto.

Council gave preliminary approval to the bill this morning and will hold a post agenda meeting with CMU representatives to discuss the lighting code and the initial project.


Peduto says part of the code must address what he calls “equity of lighting.” “In certain neighborhoods you see street lights at every telephone poll, in other neighborhoods you only see one street light at the intersection,” says Peduto. The councilman believes some neighborhoods are overly lit while some neighborhoods are too dark. The plan would take into account the type of activity in a neighborhood when setting lighting standard.

Two years ago the university of Pittsburgh took a look at what types of lighting is best, “cradle to grave,” from an environmental standpoint. At the time, LEDs were deemed to be the best and Peduto says it was determined that the city could trim 50% from its streetlight electricity bill by installing LED fixtures. “Today those estimates are over 70%,” says Peduto. He says maintenance costs can be cut by 75%, “Where we replace light bulbs every other year, we wont have to for about 8-10 years” with LED.

The goal is to start installing the lights in the fall and then begin looking for grants to outfit residential neighborhoods. A portion of the business district lighting will be paid for through a city budget fund filled through savings from other energy efficiency efforts.

City/County Finance Merger Passes Preliminary Vote

Pittsburgh Council has given tentative approval to a plan that would merge the city’s financial database system with Allegheny County’s.

Council’s support for the $5 million merger is unanimous, but Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he’ll only agree to the plan if the state gives Pittsburgh $9 million for the sale of the Municipal Courts Building. Ravenstahl says the city should also seek cheaper proposals.

Councilman Bill Peduto argues while the new financial system might bring up-front costs, it will save Pittsburgh money in the long run.

Peduto says the mayor’s arguments are “red herrings” and he should work instead on a backup plan if the state money doesn’t come through.

Peduto, the Finance Chairman, also called for a series of April meetings to map Pittsburgh’s financial plans.

“Short-term: get all these issues resolved. Middle-term: get through the next six years and have a capital budget, be able to pay the pension costs, be able to pay the debt, the legacy costs,” says Peduto. “And then look long-term at a vision of where the city needs to be.”

Peduto says if the city manages its finances well, it should be able to shed state oversight in six or seven years.

Legislation Provides Home for Urban Agriculture

City residents will now have the ability to turn their urban Pittsburgh property into a private agricultural center under legislation before City Council.

Sponsor Bill Peduto says his bill provides balance between agricultural opportunity on private property, and the protection of neighbor’s quality of life through zoning code. If a citizen pays the required $300 permit fee, one can grow produce on their property and sell it commercially. In addition to holding more specific livestock permits, this new permit will allow city residents to house livestock on their property, too.

"People want to have chickens, they want to have bees, they want to be able not only to have a small garden, but to be able to have a garden where they can also supply a farmer's market," Peduto says. "So at the same time that it's trying to promote that, we needed to balance it against the impacts on adjacent property owners."

The last portion of the bill sets up a grant program that educates residents about the best practices and works to provide financial assistance in covering the permit fee. The money for the grant program will be taken from the Capital Improvement Program’s budget for Demolition of Condemned Buildings.

"We wanted to make sure that the cost wasn't something that prohibited people from even applying, so we created a trust fund for those that are willing to do the process right," Peduto says.

According to Peduto, the last laws regarding urban agriculture disappeared in the '50s but a continued interest has drawn the city back to it.

"People would be surprised at how much the city does have an active urban agricultural base," Peduto says.

Citizens are still allowed to cultivate produce on their property for personal use, but selling those goods commercially will require a permit.

ICA OK's Budget If....

The Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) has given approval to the Pittsburgh’s 2011 budget but not until the council passed a bill promising to purchase new management software. For more than four years the ICA has been calling on the City to upgrade the software that several departments and the Pittsburgh City Controller’s office use to manage budget and H-R matters but has been thwarted at every turn. The 2010 budget was approved this time last year with a stipulation that the new ERP software be purchased to replace the old system that the ICA feels is not transparent enough and the City Controller fears could crash at any time. The city has been slow to make the purchase partially because $9 million dollars in state funding requested by the ICA has not materialized but ICA Board Chair Barbara McNees says that should not be a concern. “The governor’s office is working to get through the contract process through the Treasurers office and get the check done,” says McNees, “Just trying to work through the process while they are also working through transition issues it has taken a little bit longer.” McNees says the check should be delivered to Grant Street by mid January. The $9 million comes from the sale of the city’s old court building.

The ERP software to be used is also used by Allegheny County and the goal is to reduce costs by working cooperatively. However, if the county does not enter into an agreement with Pittsburgh the city is still obligated to move forward. The County Council is to take up a cooperative agreement later this month and it is expected to pass.

Under the plan the city would pay for upgrades to the County-owned system and then have the ability to use that same software. It would also then be available to City and County authorities. ICA Executive Director Henry Sciortino says since the Pittsburgh Public School District also uses the same system they could be brought in to begin the process of creating a region-wide system. He contends that the more entities brought into the pool the larger the savings.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto says this is the first step toward merging some City and County operations to “achieving real savings.” Peduto says the value of the city using the system goes beyond cost savings, “What it means to the public [is] more transparency, being able to easily see where funds are coming from and where funds are being expended.”

A final vote on the purchase is expected next week and the Mayor is expected to sign it.

Mayor Spends Budget Address Blasting Council

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl spent more time chiding City Council during his annual budget address this morning than he did laying out the numbers. Mayor Ravenstahl says council members are sending the city into a “financial nightmare” if they do not approve his plan to lease the city’s parking assets. The mayor says he has balanced the 2011 budget and a five-year plan by using reserves but he says the picture will be very different in the sixth year. “The first year following the five year plan our fund balance will be depleted. We will be forced to make a $91 million payment to the state pension system,” says Ravenstahl, “ That is a quarter of our city’s entire budget and more than it costs to operate any city department.”

Ravenstahl says that can all be avoided if the council would just approve his plan to lease the parking assets and use the proceeds to shore up the faltering pension program. He says he refuses to take on more debt as has been suggested by some council members and he hopes he and the council can find a way to revive the lease plan. Council members have been invited to meet with the mayor this afternoon to talk about a modification of the lease bid submitted by J.P. Morgan and LAZ Parking. The administration believes that can be done without having to issue a new request for proposal.

Councilman Bill Peduto says today was the mayor’s day to talk to the council about the budget and that did not happen. “I did not hear the budget today. I heard a lot of lobbying on behalf of a ‘Wall Street’ plan but I missed out on the budget today,” says Peduto. Councilman Doug Shields says he was, “a little bit chagrined to hear it is all council’s fault.” “There is a viable plan that the council enacted on the table and he does not seem to be making mention of that fact,” Says Shields. Shields and Peduto both say it is in the mayor’s best interest to listen to council’s ideas in an effort to find a solution.

The mayor says he did not spend his time talking about the budget because it is very similar to the 2010 spending plan. He says it contains no tax increases, no service cuts and no new programs so he thought it better served the public to talk about what is looming in the future. Spending in 2011 will come in around $450 million with a slight addition to the surplus. The five-year plans calls for a surplus in 2012 and then deficits in the next three years. The mayor says he also hopes to talk to the state about new revenue options but he thinks it is clear that the state will not talk until the city “puts its own financial house in order,” and he thinks that includes leasing the parking assets.

Mayor Ravenstahl characterized the relationship he has with council as “not good.” Doug Shields says the current mayor and council have it the worst relationship he has ever seen.

Listen to the mayor's budget address to council here.

Parking Bid Higher Than Expected

The high bidder to take over operation of Pittsburgh's parking garages and meters is Pittsburgh Parking Partners. It's a consortium of investors advised by J. P. Morgan and P-4 partners, an affiliate of Hartford-based L.A.Z. Parking. L.A.Z. manages mores than 1,300 locations in 99 cities in 21 states. The offer is $451 million for the 5o year lease of the garages and meters.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wanted a minimum of $300 million, $100 million of which would go to wipe out Pittsburgh Parking Authority debt, and the other $200 million to bolster the city's sagging pension fund.
The city has until January to get the pension fund's assets up to at least 50% of its nearly $990 million obligations toward retired and current city workers. The pension program is currently about 28% funded. If the city does not reach the 50% level by January, the state has threatened a takeover.
The mayor has said the money left over from lease could be funneled into the pension fund or used for capital improvements. “This number certainly exceeded our expectations and further solidifies my view that this partnership is the best solution to protect our residents from the burden of higher taxes, more debt, or serious service cuts. I look forward to having more productive discussions with council members and I hope that they support this plan. ”

In addition to the upfront payment, the 50-year partnership agreement requires the operator to invest at least $50 million over the next 15 years to overhaul and rebuild three aging Downtown garages. In addition, the agreement lays out requirements for the operator to implement new parking meter technology, such as those allowing meter payments by credit card or mobile phones. This investment is estimated to cost the operator more than $8 million dollars. Ravenstahl wants City Council to give its approval by October 1.

But City Council Finance Chair Bill Peduto called this bid just the "end of the first quarter of the game" and that he's pleased they have a baseline to work from....
"But there are still three other options on the table. First, the Mayor’s proposal to privatize parking. Second, keeping the asset public and doing a bond deal to finance the pension gap. Third, joining with cities from across Pennsylvania in a state pension program. Fourth, a hybrid of the above options....... we still need to know the true value of our parking assets. Friday’s release of City Council’s independent consultant’s analysis will provide the value of the asset, as well as independent economic analysis of the options. This information will provide the framework for a healthy discussion in the coming weeks about what is best for the citizens of Pittsburgh.”

Group May Pay City's Bill to Fight Shale Drilling

Legislation that would ban drilling for Marcellus Shale within Pittsburgh city limits has been held for three weeks to allow bill sponsor Doug Shields to set up a post agenda meeting. Shields hopes to bring in a panel of experts to give council more information about how the ban would work. The ban was the subject of an emotional public hearing this week and while most council members are in favor of the idea, most, like councilman Patrick Dowd, also believe it will eventually lead to a lawsuit being field against the city. The measure seems to run afoul of state law. Dowd says he wants to hear from the city’s legal department about how they will defend council’s position. During today’s City Council meeting Councilmen Bill Peduto and Doug Shields noted that they have been contacted by the Chambersburg based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Peduto says the group’s the Projects Director, Ben Price, seems to be willing to cover the city’s legal costs. Shields was unwilling to expand on his conversation with Price. Councilman Dowd says he has never been contacted by Price and he demanded to know more. Shields says he will learn more during the post agenda meeting. Council hopes to be able to hold that informational meeting some time in the next three weeks. Dowd says his goal is to “look after the health, safety, and well being” of all Pittsburghers and since he has “serious concerns” about the safety of shale drilling he is not in favor of it happening in the city or in any part of the watershed that feeds into the city’s drinking water supply. However, he says he is not always able to do what he wants, “Passing a ban, I think, is what we all want, but what we want is not always the right thing. I love to eat greasy foods but if I want to live to be 90 that’s not the right thing.”

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund did not return calls for comment on this story.

Parking Lease Plan Would Make Meter Rates ‘Soar’

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto says the debate over leasing the city’s parking assets to help shore up the city’s faltering pension plan has been overly focused on the garages downtown and he hopes to change that. Today he produced numbers that show metered parking rates as much as tripling in some neighborhoods. The plan proposed by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl would allow the company that buys the lease to phase in higher rates that, by 2014, would hit $2.00 and hour for a spot in a neighborhood business district and $4.50 downtown. Peduto says right now the city’s parking rates are “about in the middle” when compared to comparable cities but in 2014 it would “soar above the rest of the nation.” Peduto says the higher rates will have a negative impact on business and residents as people avoid the meters by either not making a trip to the business district or trying to find parking “in front of someone’s house.”

Ravenstahl has proposed leasing 12 downtown garages and some 9,000 meters for the next 50 years in an effort to raise $200 million. The money would be used to get the city’s pension program up to the 50% funded level. If that does not happen by the end of the year the state has threatened to take over the pension plan and demand higher payments. Peduto says even if the city makes the one time payment it will still have to find a way to increase annual payments to the fund to keep it from slipping below the 50% level in the future.

City Council has commissioned a study of the value of the parking assets and other possibilities for raising the needed funds. That report is due in September but the mayor has asked on council to approve his plan by Sept. 15. Peduto says he thinks council members will be able to find a solution and have it in place by the end of the year. However, at the same time Peduto says he “will not be held by any false deadline.” He says, “This pension problem has been going on for decades. I’m not going to be told I have to have an answer by December 31st. ”

Four public meetings have been set to discuss the parking lease. The first will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers. The second will be held Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers headquarters on the Southside, the third Thursday at the Pittsburgh Public Schools headquarters, in Oakland and the fourth, Aug. 2 in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School Cafeteria on the North Side.

PGH Green Bill to be Amended

Pittsburgh City Council members listened to members of the mayor’s office and the Green Building Alliance this morning talk about what they should add to a bill that would require all city-owned buildings to undergo an energy audit. The measure is part of a package of bills introduced by Councilman Bill Peduto aimed at making the city a bit more "green." City Sustainability Coordinator Lindsay Baxter says she would like to see an amendment that would make sure the audits would not just gather dust. “We would want to say for all improvements that have a pay-back period of ten years or less, they will be implemented,” says Baxter, “so we are not making every single change that could be made to a building but we are making all the ones that make sense, especially economically.” Baxter says she can be flexible on the payback time. She says she would also like to see all of the money saved through the improvements be put back into the Green Initiatives Trust Fund. “ We could blow through the money we have right now in one year and not get half of the buildings improved,” says Baxter. Right now the fund has $85,000 with an expectation of another $150-200,000 being added at the end of the year. The city owns 330 buildings. Baxter thinks a threshold should be set, under which a building would not be assessed. She suggested 5,000 square feet to eliminate sheds and bathrooms. That would leave about 75% of the city’s holdings to be evaluated. Peduto says he sees all the suggestions as “friendly amendment” and hopes to have the bill passed in the next few weeks.

Clean Air, Water Acts Arrive at Pgh City Council

Environmental activists, union members, and several community organizations gathered outside Pittsburgh City Council Chambers today to support new legislation aimed at cleaning the city’s air and water.

Councilman Bill Peduto’s Clean Water Act of 2010 would require publicly-funded developers to try to contain storm water runoff. Its partner bill, the Clean Air Act, would mandate that diesel-powered construction vehicles be retrofitted with cleaner exhaust systems or replaced with cleaner vehicles.

Council members Bruce Kraus, Natalia Rudiak, and Doug Shields also support the bills.

Pittsburgh United Executive Director Barney Oursler says Council should have six yea votes in order to get the measures passed, because Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s administration might not back the legislation.

Oursler says his group is working to garner support for the bills in Councilman Patrick Dowd’s district.

“We’re going to keep on pushing other Council members until we get to six, seven, eight, and nine, as we did with prevailing wage,” says Oursler. “We will win, but we will only win because we work really hard and stick together.”

Service Employees International Union spokesman Sam Williamson says Pittsburgh residents deserve clean rivers and clean air.

“We deserve a government that ensures that when we use public money, taxpayers’ money, to fund private development, we’re going to make our environment cleaner, not dirtier,” says Williamson.

Environmentalists Don't Want Pittsburgh to go Backwards

Environmental activists rallied at City Hall in Pittsburgh this morning in calling for renewed support of federal air standards under the Clean Air Act.
Pittsburgh Councilman Bill Peduto joined the rally and then later introduced a resolution declaring today Clean Air Act Day....."When companies think about locating their business, they don't want to be in an area that's 19th century when it comes to clean air. They want to be in an area that's 21st century. We shouldn't be losing jobs to Boston, Washington, and Austin, Texas because tech companies and other companies want to move to a place with clean air."

Randy Francisco of the Sierra Club said he's concerned that Congress will attempt to limit federal oversight of coal plant emissions...."Some folks in Congress want to take that away from us. We've made so much progress in Pittsburgh. We don't want to go backwards, we want to go forward."

Lucille Prater-Holliday, President of Pennsylvania Communities Organizing for Change, said it's important that the current generation and future generations have clean air.."Communities suffering from asthma and other conditions caused by diesel fuel and coal plants. We've begun to organize communities of low-income persons and persons of color to help them to understand what happens to them when the air is not clean."

Peduto and the environmental groups called on the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation to block limits on federal oversight of emissions.

Peduto to Mayor: Name a Stimulus Comittee

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto is calling on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to name the members of a “Stimulus Oversight Committee” as required by legislation passed 6 months ago. Peduto says the city is missing out on millions of dollars in federal stimulus funding and the committee could help land the grants he says are going to other cities. Peduto says,” we had applied for funding over one grant application and the application was done improperly. We received no money in the policing grant that went to other major cities. Most recently on the economic recovery for community revitalization, we received none. We did not even apply for a Wi-Max or Wi-Fi grant.” Peduto says council members have forwarded to the Mayor’s office names for his consideration but have been ignored. The mayor says he does not intend to name the committee. He says the city has a grant officer and has secured $20 million from the stimulus program and another $20 million from other state, federal and private sources in the last 3 years.

Harris Becomes City Council President

Pittsburgh City Council today elected a new President, Darlene Harris. Harris, who represents the 1st district was nominated by Councilman Bill Peduto who originally sought the position. Peduto says he nominated and voted for Harris because he couldn't get the 5 votes he needed to become President and he did not want the Mayor to have any more of an opportunity to manipulate the process of electing a council President. Peduto says the Mayor was calling meetings with other council members to discuss the council Presidency. Harris said she is excited to hold the position and looks forward to working cooperatively with the Mayor and rest of council. Harris also named chairs to some of City Council's committee's. Bill Peduto will chair the Finance Committee, Theresa Smith will chair the Public Safety Committee, Bruce Kraus will chair the Public Works Committee, Doug Shields will chair the Land Use and Economic Development Committee and Natalia Rudiak will chair the General and Government Services Committee. All of the people who were appointed to committee's voted for Harris as President except for Smith who was also nominated for the Presidency.

City Passes Prevailing Wage Legislation

Pittsburgh City Council today approved a bill that would guarantee that workers in future developments that contain city funding earn wages that are based upon the average earnings of their peers in the market. The vote on the legislation was unanimous but came after a shouting match devolved in council chambers. Councilman Patrick Dowd tried unsuccessfully to un-table a series of amendments that he voluntarily tabled when the bill was still in committee and eventually ended up in a shouting match with Council President Doug Shields over his right to be heard by the council. Councilman Peduto was able to introduce amendments that clarified how grocery stores were to be considered and also added a fine for violating the measure and eased reporting regulations among other things. The legislation will apply to projects of more than 100,000 square feet or 25,000 square feet for grocery stores that get $100,000 or more of city grants, favorable loans, financing, discounted land or infrastructure help. When approved the legislation received a standing ovation from the members of the audience.

Also passed today was the city's budget that did not include the 1% student tuition tax.

Recap of City Council Races

Pittsburgh City Council had four races in Tuesday's election but only one of them was contested. In district 8 Incumbent Bill Peduto was challenged by Republican Greg Neugebauer but was able to win re-election. The other council races were in districts 2, 4, and 6. Natalia Rudiak won in district 4 replacing Jim Motznik who won a seat as a district judge. In district 2 Theresa Smith retained the seat she won in a special election replacing Dan Deasy who went on to the State House of Representatives. In district 6 Robert Daniel Lavelle replaces Tonya Payne who tried to run a write in campaign but was unsuccessful.

New face Natalia Rudiak says she is working with current Councilman Jim Motznik to ensure that there is a smooth transition and says she plans on hitting the ground running by taking on issues such as neighborhood investment and crime in her new district.

Robert Daniel Lavelle says he will work to address issues of unemployment and education when he is sworn in as a member of City Council.

City Council President Doug Shields says he is excited to work with the new council members and says he hopes that because of the large number of independent thinkers that Mayor Ravenstahl, who also won re election, will be more participatory when it comes to policy discussions.

Overall in the last 2 years there has been a total of 6 new council members.