Saturday, July 14, 2007
Allegheny County meeting still on
I am so very sorry I got a couple of dates and times confused and thought we had two conflicting meetings, we do not. We WILL be meeting at 200 Frankfort ave. West View 15227 at 2pm.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Allegheny's Onorato to hold drink tax hostage
By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Port Authority will not get any money from proposed taxes on alcoholic drinks and rental cars until it cuts labor costs further, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said Thursday.
Onorato might hold revenue generated by the proposed taxes until after the transit agency reaches a labor contract that satisfies terms he intends to propose to County Council.
"We can put any strings on them we want," said Onorato, who declined to specify his conditions. "We're not required to give them the money."
The contract for nearly 5,000 current and retired Port Authority drivers and mechanics represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 expires in June 2008.
"If I send this bill to council, the bill will include language that Port Authority does not get a penny more of revenue until they fix the cost structure over there," Onorato said. "I mean, fixing the benefit cost structure of the unions and for nonunion employees."
Labor costs, which include rising health care expenses, represent 75 percent of Port Authority's $325.1 million budget. Onorato's assault on those benefits has the agency's largest union preparing for a fight.
Negotiations have to be give-and-take, said union President Pat McMahon. The union is not willing to give up health care benefits it fought for years to win, he said.
"If it means us paying more in health care, there's things I'd like in return for that," McMahon said.
For example, the union wants a change in holiday staffing in which fewer employees work but are paid more money.
The battle will start after state lawmakers pass legislation, expected within days, that would increase state subsidies for mass transit, sending about $55 million more to Port Authority this year. The agency receives about $135 million from the state.
The state's plan would require the county to pay more of Port Authority's annual budget in exchange for receiving the higher state subsidy. The county pays up to $25 million. Onorato anticipates the proposal would increase the amount to between $30 million and $35 million.
Onorato wants to pay the county's entire transit payment from the new taxes. He plans to send a proposal to county council in mid- to late-August and anticipates public hearings on the tax proposals. A final vote likely would happen in the fall.
The tax revenue would come from a 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic drinks and a $2-per-vehicle tax on rental cars.
Kevin Joyce, who owns The Carlton, Downtown, and chairs the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, led a successful fight four years ago against then-Mayor Tom Murphy's plan to enact a drink tax in Pittsburgh.
"The rationale that public transit should be wholly funded on the backs of the hospitality community is ludicrous," Joyce said. "Everybody takes public transit. Why wouldn't all businesses be taxed equally?"
Port Authority overcame an $80 million deficit by slashing service and jobs, scaling back managers' benefits and exhausting a reserve fund meant for purchasing vehicles. Authority CEO Steve Bland supports Onorato's call to cut more costs but said talks would have to occur to ensure enough cash flowed to the agency to keep it running during labor negotiations.
"I have no issue with the conditions," Bland said. "If everyone's going to hold their money, at some point we won't be able to pay employees and vendors and everything's going to shut down. So, I think we need to have a three-way conversation with the county and state."
Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.
www.pittsburghlive.com
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Port Authority will not get any money from proposed taxes on alcoholic drinks and rental cars until it cuts labor costs further, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said Thursday.
Onorato might hold revenue generated by the proposed taxes until after the transit agency reaches a labor contract that satisfies terms he intends to propose to County Council.
"We can put any strings on them we want," said Onorato, who declined to specify his conditions. "We're not required to give them the money."
The contract for nearly 5,000 current and retired Port Authority drivers and mechanics represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 expires in June 2008.
"If I send this bill to council, the bill will include language that Port Authority does not get a penny more of revenue until they fix the cost structure over there," Onorato said. "I mean, fixing the benefit cost structure of the unions and for nonunion employees."
Labor costs, which include rising health care expenses, represent 75 percent of Port Authority's $325.1 million budget. Onorato's assault on those benefits has the agency's largest union preparing for a fight.
Negotiations have to be give-and-take, said union President Pat McMahon. The union is not willing to give up health care benefits it fought for years to win, he said.
"If it means us paying more in health care, there's things I'd like in return for that," McMahon said.
For example, the union wants a change in holiday staffing in which fewer employees work but are paid more money.
The battle will start after state lawmakers pass legislation, expected within days, that would increase state subsidies for mass transit, sending about $55 million more to Port Authority this year. The agency receives about $135 million from the state.
The state's plan would require the county to pay more of Port Authority's annual budget in exchange for receiving the higher state subsidy. The county pays up to $25 million. Onorato anticipates the proposal would increase the amount to between $30 million and $35 million.
Onorato wants to pay the county's entire transit payment from the new taxes. He plans to send a proposal to county council in mid- to late-August and anticipates public hearings on the tax proposals. A final vote likely would happen in the fall.
The tax revenue would come from a 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic drinks and a $2-per-vehicle tax on rental cars.
Kevin Joyce, who owns The Carlton, Downtown, and chairs the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, led a successful fight four years ago against then-Mayor Tom Murphy's plan to enact a drink tax in Pittsburgh.
"The rationale that public transit should be wholly funded on the backs of the hospitality community is ludicrous," Joyce said. "Everybody takes public transit. Why wouldn't all businesses be taxed equally?"
Port Authority overcame an $80 million deficit by slashing service and jobs, scaling back managers' benefits and exhausting a reserve fund meant for purchasing vehicles. Authority CEO Steve Bland supports Onorato's call to cut more costs but said talks would have to occur to ensure enough cash flowed to the agency to keep it running during labor negotiations.
"I have no issue with the conditions," Bland said. "If everyone's going to hold their money, at some point we won't be able to pay employees and vendors and everything's going to shut down. So, I think we need to have a three-way conversation with the county and state."
Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.
www.pittsburghlive.com
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