the Pittsburgh Problem (Philadelphia, Progress, Carnegie: sales, real estate, crime)

[pman]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

city. But the city also makes choices, some of which are bad for the region and residents beyond Pittsburgh's borders.

yes, which is why user fees are better than taxation.

as for integration, there will be some and merging police departments is nothing new. plenty of small places in the country send kids to larger districts for school and pay for police, that's different than a city/county merger. Philadelphia did that in 1854 for police purposes but a lot of people think it would be better run if it were back in the smaller districts, particularly the schools. If you have allegheny county schools that are poorly run, you have to move a lot further away to escape them.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by pman

If you have allegheny county schools that are poorly run, you have to move a lot further away to escape them.

But it is already a huge problem that people are making decisions about where they buy a house in Allegheny County based on schools. We see it practically every day here: people would like to live in certain areas because of commutes, style of neighborhood, local amenities, and so on, but feel like they can't because of school issues. Meanwhile, these small districts can fall into vicious cycles where schools get a subpar reputation, so the property market declines, so the tax base decreases, so the schools get worse, and so on.

Meanwhile, there is a better answer to the problem of local feeder schools you may or may not like than trying to balkanize the county, which is to have robust magnet school and charter school programs.

In the end, the people suffering the most from the status quo are the kids, mostly the ones in the poorer districts, but also the ones who see less of their parents because of long commutes, or whose families are economically stressed by having to make higher house payments, and so on. And while I understand some people have already bought into the status quo and don't want to give up the advantage they paid for, at some point we need to make a break with the past.

[JoeLeaphorn]

Absolutely right! You look at the disparity between the Clairton Education Center (K-12) and Quaker Valley or Fox Chapel or Mt. Lebanon and you see a real disparity between the needs and funding of education. We need a single county school district and a single county goverment to get it.

PS. I worked at the Clairton Education Center as a health care volunteer (because they couldn't afford to pay me for my services). The clinic was less well equipped than a CVS. Contrast that with the school districts I mentioned, above.

[LiPa31322]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I actually support privatizing parking anyway, so I am easily on board with that particular idea.

Generally, I think Ravenstahl is right to support measures that don't just target residents (which, for what it is worth, is against our personal financial interests since we don't live in the City). The simple fact is that the City is an irreplacable resource for the entire metropolitan area, and we should share the burden of putting it on a sustainable financial path.

Please forgive this being off your topic but I can't figure out how to start a new thread or how to find what I'm looking for, which is this...are there common clues or identifiers that sexual predators often use? I am finding many 'coincidences' happening in my life lately & they seem to surround a certain unmentioned physical location. I've gathered a lot of circumstantial evidence & STRONGLY suspect that even my computer & Blackberry are both under secrete surveillance, too. Things said in privacy & behind closed doors were somehow known by the person of whom I'm suspicious but I do not know how to verify or confirm my suspicions. Help! I've turned to both police & lawyers & they seem to glibly reply, "You're not from around here, are you"? What difference does that make if I suspect my right to privacy is being violated? Thank you. I appreciate the help & advice.

[LiPa31322]

I just posted a question on if sexual predators have typical indicators I might be able to use to identify if I'm unknowingly involved with a sexual predator? Do they have certain traits or rituals or clues that would help me know their underlying intention if they ARE a sex predator?
Thanx.

[JoeLeaphorn]

I'm fine with supporting the city if I am allowed to work for the city. But the city has a residency requirement for most jobs. So if I don't have equal opportunities, why should I have equal responsibilities?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

So if I don't have equal opportunities, why should I have equal responsibilities?

You don't have equal responsibilities. Pittsburgh residents pay a 3% wage tax. Assuming you file your certificate indicating payment of wage taxes in another Pennsylvania jurisdiction, all you pay is the $52 occupation tax.

And assuming you have at least a decent income, there is a lot of room to increase the occupation tax and still leave you way short of what residents are paying to the City (e.g., for every $10,000 a year in wages you make, 3% would be $300).

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Geeo

I think municipal consolidation will come about when the finances of some of these smaller towns leave no choice. Some are already at the breaking point and have started merging police departments. There are also several regional councils of governenment in the county that plan for multiple municipalities and share purchasing. There really is no reason for some small struggling burg with 1,000 people and an adjoining hamlet with 600 people to exist independently anymore. A good example is Homestead, West Homestead and Munhall, which came together to help make possible the Waterfront, which spans all three municipalities. That should probably be one town. It will be a slow process, but it's going to eventually happen out of necessity.

I wouldn't look for it in your lifetime or mine, which ever is longer. These little communities are fiercely protective of their little fiefdoms, and frankly, probably do as well for day to day services as the bigger cities. There is more co-operation now with police and fire service than there was when I was a kid. If anything needs to be consolidated, it's the school districts. There are simply too many of them, too many superintendents of schools, etc. I don't think a single county wide district is necessary; economy of scale tops out somewhere, and huge districts can be overly bureaucratic. Cutting it down to half a dozen, for example, would be helpful (IMO).

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

You don't have equal responsibilities. Pittsburgh residents pay a 3% wage tax. Assuming you file your certificate indicating payment of wage taxes in another Pennsylvania jurisdiction, all you pay is the $52 occupation tax.

And assuming you have at least a decent income, there is a lot of room to increase the occupation tax and still leave you way short of what residents are paying to the City (e.g., for every $10,000 a year in wages you make, 3% would be $300).

I don't care what residents pay. I pay for garbage and water in my own municipality. I pay taxes in my own municipality. I pay for police protection, here, and l live next to a marina. By your logic, anyone who uses the marina should pay some type of tax because they are consuming services provided by the taxpayers of my municipality.

Sorry, no.

Pittsburgh got itself into the mess that it is in through bad management, pandering to the unions, and a failure to fully fund its pensions through existing revenues. In essence, the voters got what they asked for even though they didn't really understand what it was. That isn't my problem and it shouldn't be.

If they want out of the mess using my dollars, I get a say in management or no way. I'm not in a financial mess because I understood that long term obligations require long term thinking and immediate compromises.

And you can blame the leaders but who elected them?

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Meanwhile, there is a better answer to the problem of local feeder schools you may or may not like than trying to balkanize the county, which is to have robust magnet school and charter school programs.

I'm a big fan of this solution. It's worked fairly well so far in Philadelphia though it's lost steam over there since the democrats have gotten control of the state. Rendell has proposed consolidated school districts but I think everyone is going to oppose that, if you're in a good district, you'll fear being stuck in a gian Philadelphia or Pittsburgh district. In fact, I'm not sure there's a need for any districts. the state coudl pay schools per student.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

You don't have equal responsibilities. Pittsburgh residents pay a 3% wage tax. Assuming you file your certificate indicating payment of wage taxes in another Pennsylvania jurisdiction, all you pay is the $52 occupation tax.

And assuming you have at least a decent income, there is a lot of room to increase the occupation tax and still leave you way short of what residents are paying to the City (e.g., for every $10,000 a year in wages you make, 3% would be $300).

It's murky waters. Philadelphia is allowed to charge both residents and non-residents a wage tax (now at 3.93% for residents and 3.54%) but the city is having the same problems Pittsburgh is having with its pensions. Worse, the region is more spread out than Pittsburgh and job growth has been non-existent outside the meds and eds. the ability to tax has led to a situation where people in the suburbs don't want to work or live there. In fact, killing the commuter tax is one of the things NYC did in the 1990's during its revival. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are similar, they both made promises they could never afford to keep (as did GM).