Pittsburgh City Council on Monday voted to cancel a pair of contracts prematurely for a 25-year master plan, which could save millions of dollars — but Mayor Ed Gainey said he won’t abide by the decision.
The $6 million comprehensive plan is meant to guide zoning and development through 2050.
Council members initially were split on whether to support it, with several questioning the price tag for a plan that was not guaranteed to be implemented and whose goals many felt were murky.
A majority of council members last year overrode stiff objections from some of their colleagues and signed off on the two contracts.
One, for $2.6 million, was with Pittsburgh-based Common Cause Consulting to cover community engagement. The other was a $3.2 million deal with HR&A Advisors to prepare technical elements of the plan.
Now, many members are saying the contracts were too pricey — especially with the city facing financial woes so significant they voted Sunday to hike property taxes by 20% next year.
“A majority of council, from very different parts of the city, from very different ideologies, all agree this process is not working,” Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said Monday.
Council members largely lambasted the plan, saying they should’ve seen more robust community engagement for such a high cost.
Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, estimated about $2 million in total is left unspent between the two contracts.
Gainey, in a written statement, said he did not believe council had the authority to force him to scrap the contracts. He said he would not terminate them, even if council wanted him to.
“Once authorized by council, the mayor and the executive branch have sole authority to negotiate, execute and carry out the terms of a contract, including terms relating to termination,” Gainey said. “These bills reflect a legislative overreach that is at odds with the legal foundation of Pittsburgh’s city government.”
City Planning Director Jamil Bey in a statement last week defended the plan.
“Pittsburgh has never had a comprehensive plan, and this work is long overdue,” Bey said. “We have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the process and to honor the time, trust and input of the thousands of residents who have participated.”
Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, initially supported the master plan. But on Monday he voted to scrap any remaining funding and apologized to council members for having lobbied for the plan previously.
“This is one time where I have some regret,” Wilson said. “Live and learn.”
Council members R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, and Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, cast the only votes against terminating the contracts. Councilman Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, voted against terminating one of the contracts and recused from a vote on the other, citing his ties to a subcontractor involved in the deal.
Strassburger said she voted against ending the contracts because she did not believe council had the power to do so. But she echoed her colleague’s concerns about how much the city is spending on a plan many members so far find unimpressive.
“I do agree we paid too much for this,” Strassburger said.
