Pittsburgh council president calls for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grants are spent

Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith called for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grant money is spent.

The city last week announced the first round of Stop the Violence grant recipients. Over 30 organizations received nearly $1 million in total from the grant funding, which is meant to be spent on violence intervention programs or other initiatives to address root causes of violence throughout the city.

“My thing with Stop the Violence is I want to make sure there’s accountability,” Kail-Smith said.

She has often raised concerns about the city dedicating large amounts of cash to outside organizations that have little or no direct City Council oversight. Kail-Smith acknowledged that many organizations do make positive impacts in the work they do to quell violence, but said she worried that some may not always do what they promise.

Kail-Smith last week requested that Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt be directly involved in deciding which organizations receive grant funding in the next round of Stop the Violence grants.

She also called for the selected organizations to come before City Council.

The city deposits 6% of the police budget into the Stop the Violence Trust Fund each year. That money funds some city-led initiatives, including the Office of Community Health and Safety.

That office in 2023 is slated to get 15 new full-time employees, including a new social worker and employees dedicated to helping crime victims and their families cope with trauma. The office also has a $5 million operating budget allocation in the proposed 2023 budget.

There are limits on how much of the money can be spent internally. Currently, the city can spend no more than 20% of the cash on internal operations, like staffing and operational expenses for the Office of Community Health and Safety.

Mayor Ed Gainey, however, introduced a measure with his budget proposal that would change that rule, requiring only 60% of the funds to be spent on outside organizations. That would leave 40% of the money to be used internally.

Kail-Smith said she would like to see a portion of the Stop the Violence fund be spent on recreation centers or similar facilities that would be open 24 hours a day to offer shelter and resources to people in need, particularly the city’s youth. She has suggested opening one in every area of the city.

Related:

• Over 30 Pittsburgh organizations receive nearly $1 million in Stop the Violence Grants

• New rule limits how much of Pittsburgh's Stop the Violence Fund can be spent internally

• Gainey touts investments in infrastructure, public safety in Pittsburgh budget