When looking at Allegheny County’s efforts to combat community violence—especially in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs and the Mon Valley—people noticed that a large number of county police were assigned not to high crime areas, but to patrol county parks.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald noticed that too.
“About ¼ of the force were stationed in the parks. So we’ve redeployed 45 of them to various taskforce operations with the district attorney, state and federal authorities,” he told the New Pittsburgh Courier’s editorial board Feb. 11. “These are highly trained officers and investigators who really weren’t putting their talents to the best use. Now they can.”
Joined by County Manager William McKain, Solicitor Andrew Szefi, Chief of Staff Jennifer Liptak, Communications Director Amie Downs and Executive Assistant Austin Davis, Fitzgerald said he wants the county to be more proactive in combating the drug and gun violence plaguing the county’s poor and Black communities.
“Historically, we provide the investigative, analytical expertise most municipalities don’t have, almost all of it after-the-fact,” he said. “Now we can’t just barge into a town and take over, nor would we want to. But we’ve carved out a sex-assault taskforce, cyber, and we’re being more proactive.”
And though he sympathizes with the frustration families are having with the number of unsolved homicides—particularly of young Black men, he said he also hears residents saying we have to work together.
“And I agree with Mayor (Bill) Peduto when he says the best way to take a gun out of someone’s hand is to put a paycheck in it,” he said. “We need to create opportunities for economic success.”
Part of that will be coming from the Energy Innovation Center at the former Connelley trade school in the Hill District, which Fitzgerald said is providing training in both energy production and conservation technologies.
Another part, he said, is the great job Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise department Director Ruth Byrd-Smith is doing promoting opportunities for contracting with the county, opportunities within the building trades, and monitoring existing contracts.
“Vendors are required to submit invoices, so we know if minority subcontractors are being paid,” said McKain. “Ruth’s office does spot checks and site visits to make sure subs are actually on the job and not just on paper.”
And there will be more contracting opportunities with EPA-required upgrades to storm water drainage systems that will cost a minimum of $1.5 billion. The flip side, Fitzgerald acknowledged, is that Allegheny County Sanitary Authority customers will see substantial rate increases.
“It’s a mandate, but we’ll do what we can to soften the blow,” he said.
The county’s new financial stability may allow that to happen, and it’s what Fitzgerald said he is proudest of.
“Our pension fund is solvent—for the first time. We improved the bond rating, increased our fund balance. We have revenue from the natural gas deal with CONSOL,” he said. “We can actually think about managing growth.”
Of course, he also has to manage the growth of the current dust-up in the long-running feud with county Controller Chelsa Wagner. She has threatened to sue in order to audit county authorities. Fitzgerald called her refusal to sign off on a debt refinancing deal “extortion.” Liptak said her “obstructionist” behavior has escalated because she’s running for re-election. Szefi, said he welcomes the chance to face Wagner in court if need be.
“The controller is the county’s book keeper, not a policy maker,” he said.
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