Blog Entries

County Data Collection Moves Forward

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Recall that near the end of 2012 County Council held a hearing on the tax-exempt status of UPMC even though, under County law, that is not the Council's job and soon after it was declared that the Office of Property Assessments would begin doing what it was supposed to do under the 2007 ordinance. Under a three year time frame a [...]

Philadelphia, Too

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Our Brief this week covered the efforts of consultants working with the Pittsburgh Public Schools who laid out per-pupil spending comparisons for Pittsburgh and a peer group of similar districts in Pennsylvania. We noted Allentown, Reading, Scranton, Erie, Hazelton, and Lancaster as being in that comparison group but failed to note [...]

Beer Distributors Plead for Continuing Their Special Privilege

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

When someone's ox is about to be gored, that person can be expected to protest loudly. Certainly spokespersons for Pennsylvania's beer distributors, who have a virtual monopoly on retail sales, were in full throated condemnation of legislation that would strip them of that monopoly. Claims that thousands of people would lose their jobs were front in ce [...]

More Excusitis from Public Education Defenders

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats want the Governor to eliminate the use of Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement-according to a report in the Tribune Review on May 14. Why the request? Folks who follow education issues will not be surprised to learn the request is based on the claim that schools do not have the resources to administe [...]

A Glimpse into Pennsylvania’s Economic Thinking

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The debate over privatization of Pennsylvania's liquor stores has uncovered a very sad and costly lack of understanding of economics and a very strong attachment to union doctrine.

No statement has been more revealing than the comment by a Turtle Creek resident who said she was opposed to privatization because it would eliminate jobs.&nb [...]

Are Consultants Finally Seeing the Light?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

In early 2013, the Pittsburgh Public Schools announced it was going to use a $1.2 million foundation grant to hire consultants who would help steer the District through a "large scale visioning process" leading to a strategic plan to be delivered to the Commonwealth by 2014. Some of the work completed by the consultants wa [...]

Should We Be Concerned About County Debt?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The County Controller released the 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report last week and foremost among the Controller's concerns is the debt, which, when examined by the "net bonded debt" marker was $825 million, up from $747 million in 2011. The County administration stated that 2012 was a bit of an outlier, " [...]

CCAC Raises Tuition and Fees, Again

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The Community College of Allegheny County trustees announce another tuition increase along with hikes in some fees. Out of state student's tuition per credit was boosted by a third.

Justifying the third price rise in a row, the trustees pointed to the need to cover higher costs including employee compensation, utilities and other items [...]

Certainties in Life…

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Death and school tax increases? About a quarter of the school districts in Allegheny County have applied for an exception to possibly exceed their Act 1 index that determines the degree to which school taxes can rise in a given year (both the Education Department's spokesman and a business manager of a western PA school district ma [...]

Pittsburgh Region Job Gains Anemic for a Second Month

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Despite the apparent good news in the Pittsburgh MSA's unemployment rate drop to 7.3 percent in March, mirroring the state and national monthly declines, the region's labor market picture is not a rosy one.

Seasonally adjusted household survey data show the labor force fell by 5,400 in March while the number of people employed declined by [...]

Capital City to Dodge Chapter 9?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Harrisburg is reportedly close to executing a deal on its finances, its incinerator, and some publicly owned assets that might allow an avoidance of Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy. We wrote about Harrisburg's predicament as an entrant into Act 47 and the mention of bankruptcy at several points (here, here, here, and here for example [...]

Yes, We Have No Enforcement

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

A column over the weekend pointed out that while state law spells out what has to happen to tax rates after an assessment in Allegheny County and its municipalities, along with school districts in Allegheny County and across the state, it is ultimately going to fall on the citizens-possibly with the help of elected officials that wa [...]

Reassessment Reforms Become Law

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

When we wrote our recent Brief on the pending reassessment in Washington County we noted that legislation had passed both chambers of the General Assembly that would make significant changes to the state-level oversight and guidance of property reassessments carried out by counties. The Governor has signed that legisla [...]

The Lung Association Coughs up More Drivel

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

If it is April, it must be time for the American Lung Association to slander Pittsburgh with the claim that it has filthy air. And yes, it is the same old story. Virtually the entire southwest region of Pennsylvania is labeled as having high particulate pollution based on two monitoring locations, both just downwind from factories with relatively high par [...]

RAD Receipts Fall

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Revenue collected by the local one percent sales tax in Allegheny County fell by 5.4 percent in February compared to a year earlier. That means overall sales taxes fell by 5.4 percent as well since the same items are taxed at both the normal 6 percent rate and the one percent add on.

Revenue at the Regional Asset Distric [...]

PA Labor Market Develops Signs of Weakness

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

March's employment news for the Commonwealth was quite unwelcome. Both the household survey and the establishment payroll survey brought signs of marked weakness in employment. People reporting themselves as working fell by 14,000 in March after a 6,200 decline in February and a slight 1,000 drop in January. In short, the entire first quarter exhibite [...]

Pittsburgh Takes the Prize: Can It Keep It?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Officials in Nashville are mad. They just saw the most recent ranking from moving company U-Haul that ranks "growth cities" which are "...determined by calculating the percentage of inbound moves vs. outbound moves for each area." The Music City has been dethroned by the Steel City, with the company noting Pittsburgh had a [...]

Rivers Money Dries Up

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

"PITG's commitment to the community included a $1 million contribution per year for three years to a neighborhood redevelopment project in Pittsburgh's Hill District, a $7.5 million contribution per year for 30 years toward the funding of a new arena in Pittsburgh and a $1 million per year contribution for three years to the [...]

Triple Whammy in Monroeville

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Taxpayers living in Monroeville have to be upset. Consider that at the end of 2011 Allegheny County raised property taxes 20%. As reassessed values were being finalized the municipality decided to end a two-decade streak of no tax increases by taking one that allowed them 5% of the previous year's revenue and then got permissi [...]

Pittsburgh School Board Election

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

In the school board election there have been many of the same old, same old nostrums offered up by the candidates. We need more money, let's go after the non-profits. This in a school district that spends well over $20,000 per student and has little to show for it in terms of academics. This in a school district with a "Pr [...]