This Week’s Top Agenda Items

• Petition calls for Pittsburgh to declare itself a Sanctuary City
• West End sidewalk, bus stop repair program gets $100,000 boost from the county
• Private vendor may receive another $74,000 for city police promotions

Petition calls for Pittsburgh to declare itself a Sanctuary City 🔗

Nearly 1,500 city residents signed a petition to declare Pittsburgh a sanctuary city. Doing so would prohibit all city agencies from cooperating with federal Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officers.

According to a Jul. 31 article in Public Source, the Pittsburgh region saw a 267% increase in ICE arrests since President Donald Trump took office.

In mid-Aug., ICE conducted high-profile raids in two locations of the local Emiliano’s Mexican restaurant chain. It detained 16 people and reportedly left behind a burned kitchen, torn ceiling tiles and broken doors.

Both Mayor Ed Gainey and his predecessor Bill Peduto declined to assist ICE in finding and detaining immigrants, but that stance has never been codified. Philadelphia is currently the only city in Pennsylvania to do so. Conversely, the Robinson Township Police Department and the Monroeville State Constable’s Office have signed agreements in cooperation with ICE.

The petition calls for city council to hold a public hearing on the matter of becoming a sanctuary city. While members indicated they would do so, a date for the hearing has not been set.

The city code requires a hearing to be held in “a reasonable amount of time” after council accepts a petition. However, no action is required by city council after the hearing, though members could choose to introduce legislation.

West End sidewalk, bus stop repair program gets $100,000 boost from the county🔗

Allegheny County’s Redevelopment Authority has provided an additional $100,000 toward developing a West Pittsburgh mobility plan. This doubles its contribution to the project to $200,000.

The plan aims to improve mobility and encourage exercise for residents in West End neighborhoods. It focuses on pedestrian and traffic safety and providing easy walking connections between the West End, Esplen, Elliott and Sheraden neighborhoods. Work will include sidewalk and bus stop repair, ADA accessibility and new crosswalks.

Earlier this year, council addressed sidewalk accessibility and pedestrian safety throughout the city.

In addition to increasing the health and mobility of neighborhood residents, city officials hope the improvements will bring new people to its under-utilized commercial district.

Council Member Theresa Kail-Smith of Westwood clarified that this is not the Transit Oriented Development plan council discussed in June. She said neighborhood residents remain opposed to rezoning but are in favor of the mobility plan.**

Private vendor’s contract may be extended for  city police promotions 🔗

City council is planning to take up a measure to extend a contract with a private company to provide police lieutenant and sergeant selection services for next year.

This year seven officers have been promoted to sergeant, and two sergeants were promoted to lieutenant.

The measure would pay $74,000 to Industrial/Organizational Solutions, which provides written and oral examinations to police officers who are eligible for promotion to lieutenant and sergeant. During the process, the company brings outside officers of the same ranks or higher to assess candidates.

The company has handled the police promotions process for the city since 2015.