Two council members want equal split of park taxes among districts
Two Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday put forth a plan to manage revenue raised by the new parks tax, including a measure to split the money equally among the nine districts.
The bill’s sponsors Anthony Coghill and Deb Gross say they want to ensure “transparency and accountability” by establishing a Parks Trust Fund that will be governed by the nine elected council members and requiring any nonprofit wishing to use the money to apply for grants.
“We’re not going to pass the buck, or throw a hot potato, or reallocate decision-making. The decision-making stays here in the public’s hands,” said Ms. Gross.
Council already approves any disbursements from city trust funds.
Not all council members seemed on board with the proposal, however. President Theresa KailSmith and Ricky Burgess raised concerns.
Ms. Gross and Mr. Coghill were
among a group of four council members, including Ms. Kail-Smith and former member Darlene Harris, who urged voters to oppose the ballot referendum for which the nonprofit Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy petitioned.
According to campaign finance reports, the conservancy spent $634,000 in directing funding to the campaign, plus another $80,000 in in-kind donations. The Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, or PUMP, spent $45,000.
Mayor Bill Peduto publicly endorsed the campaign to raise taxes to fund the $400 million backlog in parks repairs and $13 million in routine maintenance.
The half-mill tax increase on real estate — or $50 on every $100,000 in assessed real estate value — is estimated to raise roughly $10 million a year.
The conservancy spent months advocating for the tax, attending community meetings and advertising an equitable funding formula on which decisions would be made.
According to an “equitable” and “investment priority score” that the conservancy touted, Baxter Park in Homewood, McKinley Park in Beltzhoover, Spring Hill Park in Spring Hill, Kennard Park in Terrace Village, and Ammon Park in Bedford Dwellings are at the top of the list for needing funds.
The detail in Mr. Coghill and Ms. Gross’ bill — added to the agenda just before the start of Tuesday’s meeting — that proposed that funds should be split equally among all nine districts sparked some controversy.
Rev. Burgess said dividing it equally for each district would go against the “spirit” of the tax, which was meant to fund the city’s 165 parks on a needs basis.
Ms. Kail-Smith also shared concerns.
“From the very beginning, day one, I was the first person to question the park tax, and you [Coghill] were second, so I share your concern,” Ms. Kail-Smith said. “What I don’t share is the way we’re going about it.”
Ms. Kail-Smith said a task force — introduced as a resolution last-minute on Tuesday — composed of three council members, the mayor or his designee, and representatives from Public Works, the Office of Management and Budget, and the city controller, would work together with Mr. Coghill and Ms. Gross to draft a final plan “we can all support, and most importantly that our residents can support.”
Mr. Peduto’s administration is still reviewing the legislation put forth by Mr. Coghill and Ms. Gross “but looks forward to working with council, President KailSmith and the parks task force on implementation of the initiative,” said Timothy McNulty, mayoral spokesman.
During a small news conference after the council meeting, Mr. Coghill and Ms. Gross defended the creation of nine sub-accounts.
“I got parks that are falling to pieces . ... Want to talk about parks in need?” said Mr. Coghill, who represents District 4.
Ms. Gross said the equal division of funds would allow for “neighborhood investment.”
“It’s been far too long,” she said. “We’ve had Downtown investment, we’ve had Oakland investment, we’ve had stadium investment, and we as council members hear about that day in and day out.”
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy had no comment on the bill, which council is expected to debate next Wednesday.
Residents will not see the tax reflected on this year’s first-quarter tax bills but will receive a separate parks tax bill later this year, according to the city’s Department of Finance.