When County Councilman Bill Robinson torpedoed Allegheny County’s $50 million capital budget last week by insisting that it include $500,000 for the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture, he didn’t look at it as a “last stand” moment, but it might look differently in hindsight.
Less than 24 hours after Robinson refused to present the budget without the funds, Council President Charles Martoni relieved Robinson from his post as Budget Committee chairman. But he didn’t tell Robinson directly. Instead, he emailed every councilmember, including Robinson. Robinson said he was shocked and surprised someone he considered a friend would do that.
“He stabbed me in the chest,” said Robinson last week.
Referring to “outside influences convinced there needed to be a change because things weren’t going in a direction those outside influences wanted,” Robinson suggested Martoni was only carrying out the dictates of County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who had previously said he would veto any budget that had funding for the Wilson Center.
During a Dec. 9 press conference in council chambers, Robinson recanted–slightly. He said he would no longer push for the $500,000 allocation, but neither would he vote for a budget without it.
“I’m done, I’ve helped the August Wilson Center as much as I can,” he said.
He also said he would no longer caucus with council Democrats and called for Martoni to resign immediately, citing the Home Rule Charter section on separation of powers between council and the executive.
“I don’t believe he has lived up to those words,” said Robinson.
Martoni, who said last month he would step down as president in January, appointed District 4 Councilman Michael Finnerty to replace Robinson as budget chair. Last week he said he had grown frustrated at the budget impasse.
There was no hint of coming turmoil at the Dec. 3 meeting as council easily approved the County’s $817 million operating budget. But when it appeared council would revise the capital budget to negate the Wilson allocation, Robinson refused to release it from committee.
Martoni, who in his email praised Robinson’s skill at bringing fiscal responsibility to the county budget process, said he had “gone off the deep end” with the Wilson Center issue and forgotten his responsibilities.
Robinson said his push to fund the Wilson Center generated animosity and that he had received racial threats on his office phone, which Allegheny County police are investigating. He said he also plans to ask them to sweep his offices for electronic surveillance equipment and to see if his computers had been compromised.
Fitzgerald declined comment on the circumstances of Robinson’s demotion.
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