This Week’s Top Agenda Items

• Medical examiner expected to investigate all jail inmate deaths
• Walnut Capital to get a $1.2 million tax break from the county
• Some businesses to get help on permits for asbestos abatement, others to get hit with the cost of removing lead

Medical examiner expected to investigate all jail inmate deaths 🔗 

Allegheny County Council wants increased transparency regarding the deaths of incarcerated individuals.

Unanimously passed legislation requires the medical examiner to prioritize investigations of individuals who died in the custody of the Allegheny County Jail.

According to TribLive, approximately 20 people died while under the jail’s control between 2020 to 2025.

The final report, including cause of death and toxicology findings, must be submitted to the warden, the Jail Oversight Board (JOB) and the county manager within three business days of completion. 

A 2021 investigation by the now-shuttered Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism revealed that the county didn’t include incarcerated people who died after being transported to local hospitals in its official count. The new legislation now includes those individuals in its definition of “custody.”

A 2023 investigation by the news organization additionally found that the medical examiner’s office also inconsistently completed full autopsies on individuals who died in the jail’s care.

Council Member Bethany Hallam of Ross, who sits on the JOB, has previously expressed frustration about the lack of transparency between the jail and board. The legislation notes that expedited autopsy reports will aid the board in its duties to protect the health and safety of incarcerated individuals.

The legislation does not address the availability of autopsy reports to the public via Right to Know requests even though the county has previously been compelled by state courts to do so.

Walnut Capital to get a $1.2 million tax break from the county 🔗 

Despite expressing misgivings during discussion, council authorized $1.2 million in tax relief for a prominent local developer.

The resolution grants Walnut Capital a 10-year tax abatement for a development that is already in-process in Oakland using the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA).

LERTA temporarily exempts property owners from paying property taxes. Instead the money is supposed to be used for repairs, construction or reconstruction of buildings in designated deteriorated areas. The theory is that the tax reduction will encourage development.

Walnut Capital will not have to pay any property taxes on the development for the first two years on its 160-unit, 480-bed complex designed for college students. After that the company’s tax bill will incrementally increase to 40% of the full taxes over the remaining eight years.

Council Member Jordan Botta of Friendship said the developers pledged to designate at least 10% of units as “deeply affordable.” The development will not solve the University of Pittsburgh’s on-campus housing shortage, but it will address undergraduate students’ demand for off-campus housing in Central Oakland.

Council’s extended discussion focused on the council’s inconsistent definition of “deteriorated,” how long a LERTA should be in effect and subsidizing developments like the one in Oakland that would happen even without county assistance.

Council Member Paul Klein of Point Breeze said, “We have looked the other way for too long.” While he supported authorizing abatement for this development, he suggested council begin the new year “bringing some focus to what the requirements of the LERTA are and then acting in a way that is consistent with that.”

Some businesses to get help on permits for asbestos abatement, others to get hit with the cost of removing lead 🔗 🔗

New legislation will help the Allegheny County Health Department mitigate lead and asbestos that was used in local construction.

Council authorized two bills to address the hazardous substances.

The first subsidizes half of the cost of asbestos abatement permits for “disadvantaged or distressed businesses.” Permits currently range from $375 to $2,600. 

The county will allocate $500,000 from the Clean Air Fund toward subsidies for the first year. 

The second bill allows the health department to abate lead in private properties such as apartment buildings and hotels if it’s deemed a public health hazard. The department will bill the property owner for the cost of the contractor plus a 10% administrative fee.

Lead exposure is particularly hazardous to children younger than 6. Landlords are required to address chipped or peeling lead-based paint, but they are not required to remove it.

An investigation by WESA and PublicSource, however, found that landlords ignore repeat-violation fines and that the health department also has stopped bringing summary and misdemeanor charges.