Bill Introduced In Council For New Parking Plan

A bill has been introduced in Pittsburgh City Council that would authorize Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to negotiate a new deal to sell city parking assets in an effort to solve the city's pension problem.

Council has yet to vote on that idea.

In recent weeks, Council rejected the mayor's first plan, then the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh rejected Council's alternate plan.

A state takeover of the city's pension is still possible, but Councilman Ricky Burgess predicts that could make the city insolvent. He called the issue a ticking time bomb.

"The new Republican administration in Harrisburg will be looking at selling state assets," said Burgess. "We'd better do it before they legislate it."

This afternoon, Council heard from state officials about what a state takeover of city pensions could mean to taxpayers.