Monday, August 20, 2007

Continued? Ongoing?

A short press release from the Mayor's office touting 2nd quarter financials says the following:

By continuing to hold the line on spending and with continued assistance from Harrisburg and the non-profit community, we are getting Pittsburgh's budget back on the right track.

It reminded us of a previous statement from the Mayor, in the wake of the Lemieux Invitational kerfuffle:

As Mayor, you cannot address matters of City business such as job growth, economic development, and payments in lieu of taxes without talking. During the Invitational issues importance to the City were discussed, including my trip to Harrisburg where I lobbied for state budget appropriations relevant to arena funding, and UPMC’s ongoing partnership with us to contribute payments in lieu of taxes.

We tried to research the current state of non-profit contributions, and the clearest we could find is this Feb. 26th Rich Lord piece:

As part of its recovery plan under state Act 47, the city in 2005 sought pledges of $6 million a year from nonprofit institutions. Those institutions put together an umbrella group called the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, and 102 groups promised a total of $13.25 million over three years.

The deal expires after this year's $4.2 million payment, and the fund's board hasn't decided whether to give more.

Maybe there have been pledges of continued support, or a framework for such pledges, that we have not heard about?

With a little over four months remaining in this arrangement -- and with so many fruitful discussions having taken place in various settings -- it might be a good time for a status report.

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