Monday, April 07, 2008
Taking the Governor’s Temperature on the City-County Merger
Timing is everything as they say. Various opinions have been put forth on the proposed City-County merger from newspaper articles and editorials, elected officials, and our own Policy Brief today on the subject. It just so happens that tomorrow the state secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development is coming to town to consider a petition by the City of Pittsburgh to be lifted out of Act 47 distressed status. What happens there may have a big impact on how for the merger idea goes. At the very least it might serve as a way to see how the Governor feels about the idea since the DCED is a cabinet and the secretary is an ally of the Governor.
Now the Mayor and the Chief Executive, with the findings of the Nordenberg study backing them, certainly aren’t leading with the idea that the merger is going to save a lot of money. They are hoping that voters of the County will think a singular voice advocating for the county and, perhaps, the region will lead to growth and vitality and that government can be streamlined.
But they’ve also got to sell the idea that the City’s mismanagement won’t dominate a merged government. They’ve stressed that debt and pensions won’t go beyond the City limits and that the City, or former City, will pay higher taxes to retire the obligations. That’s a hard one, and it will be interesting to see how the state hearing plays out tomorrow. We pointed out in 2003 that Act 47 was not really tailored to a City of 300,000 and, true to form, there have been times where the City seemed like it was telling its overseer what would happen. But the City was placed in distressed status, and now the state will determine if it should come out of it. City Council has asked that if the state does not lift Act 47 that it give the City some benchmarks or metrics of what has to happen to get out.
An objective observer would say “no way, the City has not nearly done enough” and they would be right. Along with the separate oversight board, the Act 47 team could have made the bold changes that the Mayor was just talking about would come from a merger. The City got tax reform, made changes to the fire department, but yet is still debating an Act 47 directive on take home cars. A lot of foot dragging and resistance have come from the City as the Act 47 plan has played out.
But the state obviously has caught wind of the proposed City-County merger and what a continuation in Act 47 would have on that prospect (the oversight board is supposed to be around until 2011). Not lifting the status would be stating the obvious—that the City is not yet ready to be out from under the state’s watch. Lifting it would be viewed as giving the City a pass to shine a favorable light on the merger’s prospects in the General Assembly that the City is in better fiscal health than it was four years ago.
So here’s a guess: the City stays in Act 47, gets a hearty pat on the back for the progress, is told there is more to do, and the spin that more time in Act 47 status should and won’t affect the recommendations of the merger committee will soon follow.
Now the Mayor and the Chief Executive, with the findings of the Nordenberg study backing them, certainly aren’t leading with the idea that the merger is going to save a lot of money. They are hoping that voters of the County will think a singular voice advocating for the county and, perhaps, the region will lead to growth and vitality and that government can be streamlined.
But they’ve also got to sell the idea that the City’s mismanagement won’t dominate a merged government. They’ve stressed that debt and pensions won’t go beyond the City limits and that the City, or former City, will pay higher taxes to retire the obligations. That’s a hard one, and it will be interesting to see how the state hearing plays out tomorrow. We pointed out in 2003 that Act 47 was not really tailored to a City of 300,000 and, true to form, there have been times where the City seemed like it was telling its overseer what would happen. But the City was placed in distressed status, and now the state will determine if it should come out of it. City Council has asked that if the state does not lift Act 47 that it give the City some benchmarks or metrics of what has to happen to get out.
An objective observer would say “no way, the City has not nearly done enough” and they would be right. Along with the separate oversight board, the Act 47 team could have made the bold changes that the Mayor was just talking about would come from a merger. The City got tax reform, made changes to the fire department, but yet is still debating an Act 47 directive on take home cars. A lot of foot dragging and resistance have come from the City as the Act 47 plan has played out.
But the state obviously has caught wind of the proposed City-County merger and what a continuation in Act 47 would have on that prospect (the oversight board is supposed to be around until 2011). Not lifting the status would be stating the obvious—that the City is not yet ready to be out from under the state’s watch. Lifting it would be viewed as giving the City a pass to shine a favorable light on the merger’s prospects in the General Assembly that the City is in better fiscal health than it was four years ago.
So here’s a guess: the City stays in Act 47, gets a hearty pat on the back for the progress, is told there is more to do, and the spin that more time in Act 47 status should and won’t affect the recommendations of the merger committee will soon follow.
