[Transport] Proposal: County Council Takes Control of PAT Funding

[Glenn A. Walsh]

At Thursday afternoon's regular meeting of Allegheny County Council's Committee on Budget and Finance, Committee Chairman William Russell Robinson proposed an amendment to the Bill 4407-08. This bill adopts the annual County operating budget for 2009 and sets forth appropriations to pay the expenses of conducting the public's business of Allegheny County and meeting debt obligations.

Bill Robinson's amendment would do two things:

1) Reduce the proposed appropriation to the Port Authority of Allegheny County by $4,631,300 to a total appropriation of $27,668,700.

2) Eliminate this appropriation to the Port Authority, whereby the Port Authority would have to request needed funds from County Council. The amendment states, "This amendment will enable County Council to retain oversight over the County's 2009 operating budget appropriation to the Port Authority."

This amendment drew sharp reaction from several council members. While Republicans Matt Drozd and Chuck McCullough supported this amendment, several Democratic Councilmen, including Michael J. Finnerty, Robert J. Macey, and Joan Cleary, opposed the amendment.

Michael J. Finnerty said this would just be an extra layer of bureaucracy, another "hoop," PAT would have to go through to receive County funding. He noted that, under this arrangement, even after County Council approves funding for PAT, the funding would still have to go through the County Executive who has the final decision to provide the funding to PAT or to withhold it, as he is presently withholding 2008 funding for the Port Authority.

Republican Councilman Vince Gastgeb countered that under the amendment County Council could have control of funding PAT, by overriding any veto that the County Executive may issue on County Council's attempt to fund PAT. Still, Vince Gastgeb would prefer that County Council not take the responsibility for funding specific agencies. Due to the part-time nature of County Council members, he said that historically County Council has left the role of actual funding decisions to the County Executive.

Mr. Robinson said that his amendment was "tough love," which would ensure that the Port Authority got its house in order before County Council would agree to provide County funding.

In a radio interview on KQV-AM 1410 this morning, County Executive Dan Onorato said he was opposed to Mr. Robinson's amendment. He said that this could become an issue regarding the separation of powers between the County Executive and County Council.

No vote was taken on this amendment at Thursday's committee meeting. However, Mr. Robinson did recess the meeting, to be reconvened "at the call of the chair."

Earlier in the meeting, the Committee broke with common practice and allowed representatives of both the automobile rental industry (representatives of Enterprise Rent-A-Car) and the Restaurant Association to comment on the proposed reduction of the poured-drink tax from 10 percent to 7 percent.

The members of the Restaurant Association continue to be completely opposed to the continuation of any drink tax, particularly during the current economic recession. Kevin Joyce stated that they continue legal action to have their referendum on the ballot next year; this referendum would reduce the drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent. One representative of the Restaurant Association did mention that a 5 percent drink tax would be less objectionable, if any drink tax had to be levyed.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
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