Gainey touts investments in infrastructure, public safety in Pittsburgh budget

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday touted investments in infrastructure, public safety and public works in his first annual budget address before City Council.

The city has faced an array of challenges since Gainey took office in January — including the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in the city’s Frick Park, an increase in gun violence throughout the city and a lack of affordable housing for the city’s low-income residents. Gainey said major challenges like those “can turn into a promise of a better tomorrow.”

The 2023 capital and operating budgets, Gainey said, invest in “restoring core government services to our residents” and moving forward his administration’s efforts to make the city safer and more welcoming for all residents.

The budget includes no tax increase.

Gainey touted an extensive public engagement process which, he said, saw a 500% increase in the number of residents who participated in an online survey designed to gather the public’s opinions on what should be prioritized in the budget. The Office of Management and Budget also hosted 10 public meetings to discuss the budget with residents.

The first priority identified in public engagement efforts was infrastructure, the mayor said.

The 2023 budget includes funding for Gainey’s bridge asset management program, an initiative he introduced in the wake of the January Fern Hollow Bridge collapse to inspect, maintain and fund Pittsburgh’s bridges.

The program’s initial report — which will outline which bridges need immediate work, how much funding will be needed to support the work and which bridges are in good shape — should be finished and publicly available in the “near future,” Gainey said. Once it is released, work on the bridge asset management program will accelerate, said Jake Pawlak, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Gainey’s proposed budget also includes funding to create a new walls and slopes unit within the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. The team will be tasked with addressing landslides throughout the city.

Other investments include money earmarked for traffic calming projects, a disparity study and new talent recruiters.

The mayor said the budget includes funding to continue emergency co-response initiatives, purchase necessary equipment for public safety employees and launch two new police recruit classes — the first new police classes for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in two years.

Gainey highlighted a change his administration already has made that eliminated the requirement that new police recruits have a set amount of college credits before entering the academy. The change was intended to eliminate an unnecessary hurdle for people looking to join the force.

“We want our police department to look just like our city,” Gainey said.

His administration also recently nixed a requirement that crossing guards have a valid driver’s license.

Related:

• Mayor Ed Gainey releases preliminary 2023 Pittsburgh budget with no tax increase

Additionally, Gainey’s budget proposed to provide an additional $4 million for the Department of Public Works. The extra cash, he said, will be used to bolster staffing and purchase new equipment for the division so that they can more efficiently respond to snow events and catch up on other backlogged projects, like maintaining vacant city-owned lots.

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation will see a “transformation” that includes a new designated aquatics team to staff the city’s pools, new positions to expand youth athletic programs and pay increases for workers in the department.

To address the city’s affordable housing needs, Gainey said, he is proposing a phased increase to the housing opportunity fund to “build more affordable housing, while preserving long-term affordability in neighborhoods throughout our city.”

Gainey has budgeted for paid internships for Pittsburgh Public Schools students as part of the Pathways to Prosperity program the city launched in partnership with the school district.

He also proposed additional funding for the Department of Permits, Licenses and Infrastructure in an effort to accelerate the permit review process.

An amended American Rescue Plan spending proposal unveiled Monday would provide $3 million in “seed money to begin to address food insecurity,” Gainey said.

Councilwoman Deb Gross and local food equity advocates had called for a $10 million food justice fund. The mayor’s office initially indicated there was no remaining ARPA money to fund the initiative.

There was an “urgent need” for initiatives to provide fresh food for city residents, Pawlak said, and the topic had been a “priority for the mayor” since he took office.

Pawlak on Monday said they reduced the city’s investment in the Pittsburgh Land Bank by $3 million to free up the funds.

Nearly two-thirds of the city’s ARPA money has yet to be spent.

In a package of legislation related to the budget, the Gainey administration also proposed a change to the way money in the Stop the Violence Fund can be spent. Currently, at least 80% of that money must be spent on non-government community organizations. Legislation introduced to council Monday would amend that requirement so that only 60% of Stop the Violence funds would need to go to those organizations.

The change could allow the city to expand its own staffing for Stop the Violence initiatives, Chief Administrative and Operating Officer Lisa Frank said.

“We just want to use (the funds) in a way that allows us to stand up the services we want to have,” she said.

The mayor also has announced plans to reorganize some city departments. The nonemergency 311 line will move into the mayor’s office, he said, as will City Channel and website teams.