Lame-duck Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and City Council are taking considerable heat from special interest groups and the Post-Gazette’s editorial page for not kowtowing to their demands for “inclusion” in deciding how to spend federal pandemic dollars.
But, and in a rare spate of fiscal prudence, the mayor and the council got this one pretty much right.
The city’s Covid-19 federal relief package totals about $335 million. And it’s been abundantly clear from the get-go how this money is to be spent – to make up for tax dollars used for basic and fundamental public services that had been lost because of pandemic-related closures, etc.
The money is expressly not intended to fund new programs for which, after the relief dollars dry up, there would be no funding source. And neither was it intended to be a kitty to be exploited for special interests’ pet projects – and among those, especially not those hatched by “progressives” (and worse) peddling the “woke”-inspired worst of social re-engineering designs.
But that’s exactly for what Peduto and city councilors are being tripoded and gutted in the latter’s 8-1 vote approving the plan.
And a rather juvenile Post-Gazette editorial this past week only cemented how ignorant the criticism is.
“Despite vociferous opposition from citizens groups — as well as the presumptive next mayor of the city — council voted nearly unanimously to codify its druthers for the allocation of the unprecedented federal windfall,” the editorial noted.
“(I)ts druthers”? How about shoring up operational imperatives left sucking for air when tax receipts started drying up.
The P-G was particularly odoriferous in its criticism of the four-year plan for which the federal relief dollars will be applied.
“They could have — and should have — opted for a plan that closes gaps in the existing budget and maybe next year’s. But, four years? No,” the editorial chided, claiming such a long-term deal “encumbers” presumptive incoming Mayor Ed Gainey for too long.
And with good reason. Again, such one-time money is best suited for replacing scarce operational dollars required to keep the city running and solvent.
All that said, however, there should be concern that some of this money appears to be set aside for future operational shortfalls.
Indeed, it’s a more sound use for such money than what activists wanted. But, then, it also likely indicative of systemic structural budget problems that also must be addressed with more than just one-time Band-Aid money.
Added the P-G editorial:
“Mayor Bill Peduto’s office applauded the vote, demonstrating just how out of touch he is with his constituents.”
But being “out of touch” with “progressives” even further to the left than Peduto certainly should be applauded as a virtue, not derided as a vice.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
