Post-Gazette city beat reporter Rich Lord has a bug in his bonnet over the contract for traffic lights awarded to CLT Efficient Technologies Group of Carnegie. The Mayor responds:"Through this effort we are reducing the cost of government, becoming more efficient and protecting the environment," the mayor said in the statement. "Not only will we be upgrading our traffic lights, but we're doing it without costing the taxpayers one single dollar."
We are reminded that during the "Ron Air" feeding frenzy, acting Mayor Ravenstahl kept trying to use "no cost to city taxpayers" as his ace.
We weren't clear on its relevance to that issue at the time, but we heard it ad nauseum from both Onorato and Ravenstahl in reference to the new Penguins arena.
There is another Rich Lord piece on the topic of the new arena, involving Council's capping of the city Amusement Tax. In it we find:
There is no city or Allegheny County tax money going to arena construction, but the city and its authorities could be involved in paying for necessary road and sewer work.
"No cost to city taxpayers" does not always mean what it seems to mean, nor is it always the end of the conversation.
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