This Week’s Top Agenda Items

• UPMC donates $10 million for new ambulances, with state adding $1 million grant
• PNC Foundation gives $2 million for snow equipment after 37 plows broke down in one night
• Pittsburgh still $1 million short on unpaid water bills from 2025  

UPMC donates $10 million for new ambulances, with state adding $1 million grant 🔗 🔗 

The Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Service (EMS) fleet is getting a $10 million shot in the arm from UPMC and another $1 million grant from the state.

Pittsburgh City Council is planning to hold a final vote to accept the money next week.

Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said during council’s Feb. 4 committees meeting that the one-time UPMC donation will be split between this year and 2027. He estimated that the city will be able to purchase eight or nine additional ambulances plus a new rescue unit. He said that he will be working with the bureau to determine the best use of the $5 million slated for 2027.

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development awarded the $1 million grant to buy two ambulances at the end of last year. 

Gilman clarified that the UPMC donation is separate from ongoing conversations with the hospital chain and other local organizations about longer-term commitments and partnerships with the city.

Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield said, “The Pittsburgh taxpayers have ponied up, and I’m glad to see this process started with our large nonprofits.”

PNC Foundation gives $2 million for snow equipment after 37 plows broke down in one night 🔗

The PNC Foundation wants to help prevent another night of 37 snowplow breakdowns.

Council gave preliminary approval at its Feb. 4 committee meeting to accept $2 million from the PNC Foundation to purchase snow removal equipment.

The donation will pay for 15 new snow removal vehicles. Already budgeted money in addition to funds now freed up by the $10 million donation from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will allow the city to buy 35 more. Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said city workers have also identified 20 vehicles in the city’s existing fleet that can be retrofitted for plowing and/or salt spreading. All told, the city will have 70 vehicles capable of removing snow.

Gilman said the vehicles will not be ready in time for any snow storms for the rest of this winter, but should arrive in time for next winter’s snow. He added that some of the new vehicles will be used year-round, including various sizes of pickup and dump trucks.

Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park asked for the city to put information online so that council members and the public can easily track purchases as they happen.

The donations from the PNC Foundation and UPMC bring the city’s possible fleet expenditures for 2026 to $27 million. Gilman said the mayor’s office has reached out to other local foundations to match their charitable missions with some of the city’s other needs.

Pittsburgh still $1 million short on unpaid water bills from 2025        🔗 

Pittsburgh is still up to its knees in water bills.

At the end of last year, council authorized a $7 million transfer to the 2026 budget to address the city’s unpaid water bill, but the city is $1 million short.

At the Feb. 4 committee meeting, budget director Pete McDevitt said that only $6 million is available for transfer. The remaining $1 million was supposed to come from the Department of Public Works’s utility budget line, however, “there was not a million dollars available in that to transfer,” said McDevitt.

Members only asked for clarity that this was not a $1 million reduction in the amount owed. McDevitt said it was not, the city still owes the rest of the money.

Council needs to amend last year’s resolution to reflect the new transfer amount, which it is expected to do at the regular meeting next week.