Pittsburgh City Council considers measure to explore annexing, merging with other municipalities

Although Pittsburgh City Council appears poised to shoot down a request to annex neighboring Wilkinsburg, it is considering a proposal to take a more thorough look at whether annexations or mergers would be beneficial to the city.

Legislation introduced Tuesday by Council President Theresa Kail-Smith would allow City Council to investigate mergers and annexations with neighboring municipalities and their respective school districts. This would allow council to gather necessary information it was lacking when asked to vote on annexing Wilkinsburg.

A judge had ordered council to vote on the Wilkinsburg annexation request within 30 days, which council members said did not give them enough time to properly explore questions about financial ramifications, a merger between school districts and the number of vacant properties in Wilkinsburg, members said.

Under the legislation introduced Tuesday, if the council’s preliminary investigation identifies that one or more municipalities may be a good fit for an annexation or merger, council could vote to limit the scope of a further investigation to just those municipalities.

If that investigation concludes no merger or annexation is necessary in the next two years, the investigation would end unless at least two-thirds of the council opts to extend it.

In addition to Wilkinsburg, other neighboring municipalities include Penn Hills, Edgewood, Swissvale, Homestead, West Homestead, Baldwin, Brentwood, Dormont, Crafton, Green Tree, McKees Rocks and Etna.

The earlier proposal to annex Wilkinsburg is expected to be voted down, as Kail-Smith last week introduced legislation to deny the measure. Kail-Smith and other council members said they are still open to further discussions about a potential merger or annexation, but they did not yet have enough information to support the annexation now.