Pittsburgh fleet manager seeks steady funding source to fix city's worn-out vehicles

The man in charge of Pittsburgh’s aging fleet of fire trucks, snowplows, police cars and ambulances said the city must find a steady source of revenue to address its increasingly desperate vehicle situation.

“At the end of the day, fleet is how the city delivers,” Fleet Manager Firmin Maurice told City Council members during a Wednesday meeting. “Every truck, every patrol car, every medic unit — they’re the backbone of how the city serves its residents.”

Maurice said the city would needs to spend about $22 million per year to replace older and high-mileage vehicles.

But Pittsburgh is falling far short.

Mayor Ed Gainey’s preliminary 2026 budget includes just over $10 million to buy 50 new vehicles — including 20 police vehicles — next year.

But the capital budget projects fleet investments dipping in the following years, dropping below $3 million by 2031.

That decline, according to Council Budget Director Peter McDevitt, “ain’t cutting it.”

“We’re falling further and further behind,” McDevitt said.

City officials for years have sounded the alarm about a vehicle fleet often described as being in “dire straits.” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, called it a “triage phase” for vehicles.

Ambulances have broken down en route to the hospital. Workers have been told there aren’t enough snowplows for everyone to drive their routes until other crews finish. Only four functional street sweepers clean roads across 90 neighborhoods.

Maurice urged council to consider some steady funding stream that would allow officials to plan for a set amount of money and revitalize a fleet prone to breakdowns and costly maintenance needs.

He suggested using a dedicated fund or allocating a portion of revenue from a specific tax to go to the fleet.

“I think this dedicated funding source is an interesting question,” Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield said, calling the suggestion “reasonable.”

The city annually allocates $10 million each to the Stop the Violence Fund and the Housing Opportunity Fund. Warwick said she’d be open to exploring whether the city could do something similar for the fleet.

Officials did not offer specific ideas about where they could find such funding as the city faces tight financial margins in the years ahead.

McDevitt pointed out that buying newer vehicles would allow the city to save money on repairs.

The city budgeted $3.8 million for repairs next year — excluding routine maintenance — though Pittsburgh has already spent more than $4 million on such costs this year, he said.

“I don’t expect that to go down,” McDevitt said.

In the long term, Strassburger said, the city should analyze whether there are ways to make do with fewer vehicles or prioritize buying the most badly needed equipment.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, pitched leasing more vehicles to avoid maintenance costs. The city has leased snowplows in recent years.

Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, said he’d be open to exploring taking out a bond to buy vehicles.

McDevitt said he fears the city may be past “the point of no return” with the fleet.

There are often yearslong delays to get specific vehicles once the city orders them. And McDevitt worries the beleaguered fleet won’t last until new vehicles arrive.

“We have to make that investment now,” Coghill said. “It’s not a good situation to be in.”