The City-County Building, on Grant Street, in Downtown Pittsburgh. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)
The report is expected to be released to the public soon.
by Bill O’Toole, PublicSource
In the coming days, an in-depth, foundation-funded report will be released on the inner workings and looming challenges for the city government under a new mayoral administration, including staffing shortages in key departments.
The report is based on copious research and dozens of interviews with municipal workers in the final months of the Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration conducted by an independent team of consultants.
The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments* conceived and funded the project with the goal of both assisting in the mayoral transition and providing the public with a comprehensive picture of Pittsburgh’s public sector as Mayor Ed Gainey begins his historic administration.
The initial idea for the report came last spring after Gainey’s victory in the Democratic primary.
“The Pittsburgh Foundation, in conversation with The Heinz Endowments, really started to think about ways that we could support a smooth transition,” said Phil Koch, vice president of policy and community impact for the Pittsburgh Foundation. “We know that times of transition and change can be tumultuous.”
The Thomas Consulting Group, which produced a similar city guidebook during New Orleans’ 2017 mayoral transition, created the report. Though it has not yet been released publicly, the group’s CEO highlighted a top issue for the city.
“The City of Pittsburgh is facing critical staffing shortages in several key departments such as Public Works, Mobility and Infrastructure, and EMS,” said Michelle Thomas, CEO of the consulting firm. “COVID-19 has only put more of a strain on staffing, as it has with most cities. Many of the staff in key departments are nearing retirement, which could continue to pose a problem over the next couple of years.”
Koch and his colleagues said the process that led to the report began with research on other cities that recently had similar elections. The foundations then solicited proposals from several private consulting firms that specialize in advising municipal transitions. They selected the Thomas Consulting Group, which also advised United States Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) during his early days as mayor of Newark.
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