City council could gain accord on 2 measures

It’s not exactly a holiday miracle, but Pittsburgh City Council appears likely to finish 2017 with two hard-fought agreements.

One would raise the city’s realty transfer taxes from 4 percent to 4.5 percent Feb. 1 — half the increase once sought for 2018 — to support an affordable housing fund. The other would ban the use of painful instruments on exotic and wild animals, replacing an earlier proposal that would have kept the wildlife from performing.

Both plans gained traction last week as council concludes its two-year legislative session. Any unresolved legislation lingering by Dec. 31 would automatically expire.

“The expiration of bills puts a little pressure on members to dig down and reach compromises,” said Councilman Dan Gilman, who backed the tax and animal bills in preliminary votes Wednesday.

He called it a historic day,

with council also endorsing help for first-time home buyers, longtime homeowners and early childhood education.

Final votes on the legislation are expected Tuesday, before city offices close over the Christmas holiday.

Introduced by council President Bruce Kraus, the animal bill may be the most contentious. It would regulate instruments “capable of inflicting pain, intimidating, threatening pain or mimicking any such device,” prohibiting their use in controlling or training exotic and wild animals.

The measure would keep such tools from appearing near the wildlife, too. Shrine Circus chairman Paul Leavy has said that’s problematic because circus insurance carriers require the presence of bullhooks in certain circumstances with elephants. He said the legislation would “effectively end” the fundraising circus put on by the Syria Shrine.

“This bill is absurd,” Mr. Leavy said last week, deeming it too broad.

He said animals at the circus face no pain or harm.

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium also urged opposition Friday in an email to supporters. It argued that the bill “infers that the Pittsburgh Zoo uses fear and abuse as a means to control its animals.”

“The Pittsburgh Zoo has — and always will have — a zero-tolerance policy on animal abuse,” the email reads. City council doesn’t have “the knowledge or the expertise to define and regulate the areas of animal care,” the note says. Already regulated by federal agencies, the zoo said the legislation would limit “the tools [we] can use to safely and humanely manage our animals.”

“Some tools listed in the bill are professionally recognized by wildlife caregivers, while other tools listed are no longer used by any reputable institution, including the Pittsburgh Zoo, and have been added to the bill simply for shock value,” the zoo said in a statement Saturday.

Mr. Kraus, who describes himself as a longtime advocate for humane animal treatment, accused zoo leadership of making “wildly inaccurate” claims over his legislation.

“I believe that after months of exhaustive research, extensive review by our City of Pittsburgh legal department and clear indications that a seismic shift within our national culture favors the elimination of implements of pain and coercion in the training and ‘care’ of animals used for education and entertainment, the legislation is indeed necessary, timely and responsible,” Mr. Kraus said in a statement.

His push follows similar laws in California and Rhode Island, which have outlawed the use of bullhooks. The devices typically feature a pointed hook atop a long handle. Mr. Kraus’ 2016 proposal to restrict wild and exotic wildlife performances couldn’t muster enough council votes to pass, but he expects more support for the latest, narrower effort, he has said.

“I don’t think any member is looking to harm the zoo or the Shriners’ circus. Similar ordinances have passed in other cities that continue to have successful zoos and circuses,” Mr. Gilman said. “I’d be optimistic that there’s a way to work together that works for everybody.”

On the tax matter, council members took months to reach tentative agreement. Revenue from the increase would help pay for the Housing Opportunity Fund, also known as the affordable housing trust fund, which council created a year ago. Aid under the program may include foreclosure prevention, home rehabilitation and new housing.

Some council members wanted to raise realty transfer taxes a full percentage point — to 5 percent — in 2018 to drive the effort, which carries a $10 million annual funding goal. A majority revised the figure to 4.5 percent amid outcry from real estate agents and other critics, who said a higher tax would help drive many home buyers into communities where transfer taxes are lower.

“I don’t like the idea,” Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith said of a tax hike.

But she realized that it’s bound to pass, she said.

In a preliminary vote, Mrs. Kail-Smith said, she supported the higher tax as part of a compromise that now incorporates protections for residents. She said they include a sunset clause to repeal the increase in 10 years; a regular review of effects from the higher tax; and grass-cutting help for qualifying residents, including seniors and veterans in need.

The provisions attempt “to make sure that everybody was benefiting in some way,” the councilwoman said. Council plans to reallocate some existing city money to temper the tax increase.

Still, city Controller Michael Lamb urged council to reconsider the hike. Council members Natalia Rudiak and Darlene Harris declined to endorse the higher rate. The council agreement would let it jump to 5 percent in 2020.

“Now that we’ve gotten in a position where the city is financially solvent, we need to think about making the city financially competitive,” Mr. Lamb said. “Every time you turn around, we have the mayor and the city council making us less competitive.”

Transfer taxes amount to a one-time charge based on a property’s sale price. It’s paid at the time of purchase, often split between the buyer and seller.

Mr. Lamb said the rate increase appears to require approval from the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which has a meeting Thursday.

Mayor Bill Peduto supports raising the transfer tax because “the wealth that’s being created in the city could help to fund the need for affordable housing, and it’s the most fair option available,” he has said.

Some money in the housing fund may help first-time home buyers with closing costs, including the transfer tax. A grant worth 2.5 percent of a home’s sale price would be available to eligible purchasers, according to a bill that council advanced last week.

Another would call on the state to let Pittsburgh employ rebates or other relief for longtime homeowners facing large tax increases due to gentrification. Money would come from the housing fund. Council also backed spending $2 million to bolster early childhood education.

Ms. Rudiak, who championed the education spending, said those dollars could address facility, training and other needs. She said only 20 percent of early childhood education facilities in the city achieve a high-quality ranking.

“I think early childhood education is economic development,” Ms. Rudiak said. “It is community development.”