Today the Mayor's spokesperson was quoted as saying that the parking lease for pension relief deal is something the Mayor is being forced into.  "Let's be clear: The mayor doesn't want to do this" was the exact statement.

 

Consider for a moment that the state is not (and never was) going to swoop in and rescue troubled pension systems like Pittsburgh; there is no magic wand to wipe away the $650 million in unfunded liabilities; there are few options to generate a lump sum of cash to put into the pension fund; there is no free lunch.

 

But to imply that the Mayor does not want to do the lease is disingenuous.  Recall that the state passed Act 44 last fall as a way to deal with municipal pensions.  It even had the makings of moving to a defined contribution system and away from defined benefit plans.  But the Mayor wanted no part of it and said, nearly a year ago, "just give us a chance to solve this locally. We can do it. ... Give us a two-year window to explore leasing [public] garages".

 

Out of that came the amendments to Act 44 and the granting of the Mayor's preferred alternative, the same one we are now told he is lukewarm on.