Here is my summary of the Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 regular meeting of Allegheny County Council. My votes are in parentheses, as is the prime sponsor of each item. 13 members present (Betkowski and Prizio absent).
The first item on the agenda was one that came as a surprise to the public, and was only discovered by many members of Council the day before the vote. Councilwoman Filiaggi nominated Mike Embrescia to the open at-large seat of Council left by the departure of Councilman DeMarco. The agenda for this meeting only had “Nominations for Interim At-Large Member of Council” as a section and no actual voting item specified. As such, members of the public were not aware a vote was occurring, and not a single person came to comment on the appointment. As Mr. Embrescia is the person I defeated to obtain my seat on Council, I am familiar with him and can confidently say he was a solid appointment by Councilwoman Filiaggi. However, my fellow colleagues and the residents of Allegheny County were simply not afforded that same level of information. While I understand that this is how appointments have been handled in the past, I do not believe “This is how we’ve always done things,” to be a sufficient justification for a process that lacks transparency and thoroughness. As such, I’ll be looking to change the way appointments are done in the future, regardless of political party. Mr. Embrescia’s nomination passed 11-0, with Councilwoman Hallam abstaining.
13276-24 (Macey- Held) This ordinance would move several employees from the oversight of the Office of Property Assessments to the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review (BPAAR) and would allow BPAAR to schedule their own appeal hearings rather than have them scheduled by the Office of Property Assessments. This bill was held for more refinement.
12952-24 (Naccarati-Chapkis – Yes) This ordinance would direct the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Public Works to create a complete streets plan. I greatly appreciate the work work Councilwoman Naccarati-Chapkis did on this bill, as well as the cooperation of both Parks and Economic Development to improve it over the past 10 months. I was proud to serve as a co-sponsor, and I look forward to seeing our county roads becoming more friendly to all forms of transportation. Passed 12-0 w/ Embrescia abstaining.
13317-24 (Executive – Yes) This ordinance would revise the County’s code relating to the Human Relations Commission (HRC) to align it with federal standards, allowing the HRC to access federal funding. This step became necessary as Pennsylvania’s HRC recently lost Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) status. While the City’s HRC does have FHAP status, County residents outside the City of Pittsburgh are currently receiving inadequate protection and representation due to the lack of FHAP status by the PA and County HRCs. Passed 13-0.
13400-25 (Catena – Yes) This ordinance extended the County real estate tax discount deadline from March 31, 2025 to April 30, 2025 and the late deadline from May 1, 2025 to May 31, 2025 due to the tax bills going out a couple weeks later than intended. Passed 13-0.