Mayor, City Council Meet Over Pension Fund

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The clock is ticking to avoid a state takeover of Pittsburgh's pension fund. A solution must be found by the end of the year in order to do so.

City Council called a meeting to discuss a possible resolution with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl Wednesday morning.

Mayor Ravenstahl showed up at City Council as part of a last-ditch effort to come up with a resolution.

The latest proposal is to take the $52 wage tax, that suburbanites and anyone who works in the city pay, and use that to dedicate to the pension fund.

"I have real concerns about what this means to the future of our operating budgets, by removing the LST tax. So, I will not be an active supporter or participate in something that I think doesn't work and doesn't solve the problem. But if it's the will of this Council to pass this, and you think this is the right course for the residents of this city I'm not going to obstruct you. I'm not going to veto this," Mayor Ravenstahl said.

"The mayor is an obstructionist. The mayor has chartered us on a course to disaster. I'm not even going to presume to guess why, but there it is. And it's really irrelevant to me as to the whys. The fact of the matter is, it is. And as such, this mayor has set us on a course to the state takeover, which is a doomsday scenario," City Councilman Doug Shields said.

Many of the City Council members share Shields' view. They feel it's not enough for Ravenstahl to say that he's not going to help.

City Council wants his affirmative help to find a resolution to the problem.

The meeting is still ongoing.

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