A historic leadership change and a fight over fiscal power

Top Issues In County Council

• After 26 years, Allegheny County Council gets its first woman president
• Proposed ballot question would give council a say on contracts over $30,000

Help turn feedback into impact. Subscribe today.

Each week, we share surveys on the biggest issues and take your responses directly to our elected officials. Join for free to make your voice heard.

SUBSCRIBE

Allegheny County Council gets its first woman president

For the first time in its 26-year history, a woman will lead Allegheny County Council.

Council unanimously elected Council Member Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis of Plum as its new president at the May 26 meeting.

“Progress is not a single moment; it is a pattern we choose to continue,” said Naccarati-Chapkis, who has been a member of council since 2022.

“The challenges before us are real, but so is our capacity to meet them,” she said. She noted the need for a balanced budget, the proposed property tax reassessment and residents’ needs such as housing, among others. “I believe we do our best when we remember who we’re working for and why it matters.”

Former president, Council Member Pat Catena of Carnegie stepped down from the position on May 22.

At the May 12 meeting, residents and some members of council called for Catena to step down — or be removed — from the position. They did so in response to a campaign mailer sent to households in the 45th Legislative District. It included a line that his primary opponent, Brittany Bloam, was supported by “an extreme left group that advocates for transgender athletes in our sports.” (He lost to Bloam in the May 19 primary election.)

Catena will remain a member of council.

Proposed ballot question would give council a say on contracts over $30,000 🔗 

Come Election Day, residents may have the opportunity to change who has a say in Allegheny County’s contracts.

In the 26 years since Allegheny County transitioned from a commissioner-based system, the executive has had sole authority over contracts not involving property transactions.

Council Member Alex Rose of the South Side Slopes introduced legislation during the May 26 meeting to place a referendum on the Nov. 3 general election ballot to address that perceived imbalance. It would ask residents if the county code should be amended to require council to approve contracts over $30,000 except in emergency circumstances.

The proposal’s rationale says that putting “hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars within the sole discretion of a single individual is fiscally unwise, and invites at least the perception of a lack of transparency.”

The legislation also says the executive’s contractual commitments create tension with council, which is responsible for the annual budget.

Currently, council must be notified of new contracts prior to, or contemporaneous with, their execution. Rose’s legislation states that the requirement has never been systematically followed. Rather, council receives a report of the executive’s actions the previous month.

Council referred the legislation to the government reform committee.