Under next year's budget, mayor's office and city county in line for multi-million dollar increases
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It is the holiday season on Grant Street.
Under next year's budget, both the mayor's office and Pittsburgh City Council are in line for multi-million dollar increases.
Saying he wants to bring government to the people, Mayor Ed Gainey defended a multi-million dollar budget increase for his office, dramatically expanding communications and neighborhood services to address crime and other issues.
"You can't change things if you're not present," Gainey said. "If you're not relevant, then you can't change anything."
The mayor's budget has jumped from $1.1 million to $4.7 million, an increase of $3.6 million, expanding the mayor's office from 11 to 52 positions.
While the mayor said the majority of the increase comes from bringing functions from other departments under his direct supervision, he is expanding neighborhood services by seven positions, and by moving the cable bureau into his office, is increasing the press and public communications by $700,000.
"We've only had two people in the Office of Communications forever," Gainey said. "We've never modernized it. Every other city I go to, they have a communications staff to deal with a 24/7 news cycle."
Though council members expressed discomfort with moving the cable bureau into the mayor's office, it remained supportive of the reorganization and budget increase and did not question items like the mayor's hiring of a $112,000 a year lawyer called the executive assistant on legal policy.
But next year's council spending matches those increases stride for stride. Its budget increases from $2.9 to $4.6 million, an increase of $1.7 million.
Pittsburgh City Council has also hired its own lawyer at $92,000 dollars a year, a community health advisor at $63,000, and have increased its personal staff budgets from $983,000 to $1.26 million.
If the council approves this budget, both will be in line for these hefty increases. In the coming year, it's on them to convince the public that the money is being well-spent.