A Selection of Allegheny Institute Accomplishments

November 2010-November 2011

 Issue Area: Port Authority Monopoly Status

Work Effort and Results: Research on outsourcing and monopoly status stretches back to 2005 (Policy Brief Volume 5, Number 21). We first mentioned that the General Assembly ought to remove the monopoly on mass transit in 2008 (Policy Brief Volume 8, Number 38). House Bill 10 of the 2011-12 legislative session would amend the Second Class County Port Authority law to allow the Public Utility Commission the right to approve carriers of fixed route bus services. The bill passed in the House June 7, 2011. The Institute testified on this legislation in front of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on September 14, 2011.

 Issue Area: Oversight Board and Appointment Makeup

Work Effort and Results: Research on the oversight board goes back to its inception in 2004. First noted makeup of appointees in 2010 (Policy Brief Volume 10, Number 61). Noted changes to Philadelphia oversight board in light of gubernatorial appointment and the grounds for needed changes in the makeup of the Pittsburgh board (Policy Brief Volume 11, Number 13). Two new members appointed in April and August of 2011.

 Issue Area: Harrisburg Bankruptcy

Work Effort and Results: Research on Chapter Nine Municipal Bankruptcy commenced in 2009 (Policy Brief Volume 9 Numbers 51 and 53, Report 09-05). First wrote of Harrisburg situation in 2010 (Policy Brief Volume 10, Number 8). Followed up with numerous blog entries. Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy in October 2011. Institute was contacted by various media outlets, including Politico, Reuters, and Wells Fargo Bank.

 Issue Area: Allegheny County Sunset Review

Work Effort and Results: First wrote of the long overdue sunset review in 2010 (Policy Brief Volume 10, Number 16). Raised topic again in 2010. Received media coverage from Pittsburgh City paper. County published sunset review on December 31, 2010.

 Issue Area: Pittsburgh School Employment

Work Effort and Results: Pointed out the out of balance between the students to teachers ratio and the students to non-teachers employees ratio in the Pittsburgh Public Schools that arose over the last decade (Policy Brief Volume 10, Number 47). That work was referenced by education watchdog groups leading up to a round of employee layoffs announced in June of 2011 in which many central administration and other non-teaching areas were targeted.

 Issue Area: Pensions/Other Post-Employment Benefits

Work Effort and Results: Our research began in 2007 with a full-length report on local government pensions in Pennsylvania. Follow up reports came in 2009 and 2011 to coincide with bi-annual reports of the Public Employee Retirement Commission. Devoted much attention through Policy Briefs and blogs in 2010 to the proposed lease of the parking system in Pittsburgh as a way to fund the pensions. Wrote a Brief at the beginning of 2011 (Policy Brief Volume 11, Number 1) as a reaction piece to the City's alternative funding plan and will continue to monitor pension funding as budgets are proposed and approved.  Have cast a bright spotlight on the unfunded liability related to post-retirement healthcare for the City, a liability of more than $400 million with no assets set aside for offsetting this amount, as well as the difficulty of maintaining the funded ratio in the just approved 2012 budget. 

 Issue Area: Property Reassessments

Work Effort and Results: Substantial research effort on this topic, going back to 2004 when the original county reassessment plan was proposed. Published Briefs as the issue worked its way through county and state courts. Wrote a full-length report on assessment standards and practices in Pennsylvania and other states.  Research efforts continued on the proposed moratorium that was crafted by the Legislature. Continued to analyze and report on the progress of the 2012 reassessment order by the County court and will continue to do so under the next County Executive administration. We correctly predicted the Supreme Court's ruling and have debunked every argument put forth by the current Chief Executive as to why the reassessment should not be done.

 Issue: Regional Transit

Work Effort and Results: First studied the issue when it was raised in 2005 and wrote a full length report in 2011 (Report 11-06) when a candidate for County Executive proposed the idea of a merger or consolidation along the lines of SEPTA. Our work pointed out the far above-average wages for PAT drivers, the extraordinarily high bus operating costs, the fact that some of the regional agencies outsource operations and the fact of PAT's enormous size in comparison  to the other agencies, all of which taken together present a formidable obstacle to achieving a successful merger. This topic was covered recently in a Pittsburgh City Paper article in which officials from neighboring counties expressed numerous concerns. The notion appears to have no traction anywhere but in the rhetoric of politicians looking for a sound bite that shows they are sincere in wanting to fix PAT.

 Issue: Heinz Endowments Air Quality Report

Work Effort and Results: In March the Heinz Endowments released a study claiming that "air quality has remained poor through the last decade in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region". This assertion was based primarily on particulate monitor results in two locations, one in Allegheny County and one in Beaver County. Our work (Policy Brief Volume 11, Number 10)  pointed out the lack of evidence or a scientific basis for labeling the entire region as having unhealthy air Heinz Endowments posted a rebuttal to our Brief on their website and sent a letter to Institute Board members disparaging the Institute's criticism of their report. The Institute wrote a response to the website posting and the letter that was sent to board members. In that response we pointed out the failure to address our original questions; later, the Post-Gazette ran an editorial-not necessarily connected to our Brief-pointing out the illogical position of labeling an entire region as having unhealthy air based on bad readings at two monitoring sites.

Issue: Public Sector Pay

Work Effort and Results: In August the Keystone Research Center and the Economic Policy Institute released a report claiming that public sector workers earn less than private sector workers, especially college educated employees. We wrote a criticism of the study, noting the methodology used by the authors was completely flawed (Policy Brief Volume 11, Number 44). By pointing out this fundamental flaw along with other shortcomings and conclusions in the report the Institute was able to give the Legislature and the Governor strong arguments to counter the propaganda efforts being launched by public employee advocates aimed at justifying the pay and benefits and fighting any legislation that would rein in compensation growth.

Issue Area: Marcellus Shale Drilling

Work Effort and Results:  Research culminated in report issued in July 2011 (Report 11-05).  We were the first to mention that taxable income under "rents and royalties" provides the strongest evidence of the positive economic benefit of this drilling.  We also noted the rapid increase in payroll jobs in the mining and logging sector attributable to this new industry.  Counties with the highest levels of drilling activity displayed somewhat higher levels of sales tax collections than their neighbors during the last couple of years.

 Issue Area:  Pittsburgh International Airport

Work Effort and Results:  Research on Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) has been going on since 2000 (Report 00-05) when we first mentioned the high cost of operations.  Earlier this year in two separate Policy Briefs (Volume 11, Numbers 8 and 16) we once again called for PIT to lower costs in an effort to attract more origination and destination traffic.  We noted high landing and terminal fees compared to like markets and that gaming money, which was promised to lower those fees, was redirected to the County budget (Policy Brief Volume 8, Number 4).  We also debunked the County Executive's plan to petition the FAA to use PIT as an overflow facility for congested airports on the east coast.  In October, the Airport Authority announced a reduction in airline fees at PIT in an attempt to attract more flights.    

 Issue Area:  Pittsburgh Area Employment

Work Effort and Results:  We continue to be one of the area's leading experts on the Pittsburgh employment picture.  Research has culminated in Policy Briefs (Volume 11, Numbers 7, 11, 23, and 27) that among other things look at trends and sectors that have demonstrated strength while also making suggestions on how the situation can be improved.  As a result of this research and expertise our input is very frequently sought after by the media on stories involving employment or the economy of Southwest Pennsylvania.