Updates

• Council suspended the program allowing for the purchase of neighboring lots for $200.

On The Docket

• Councilman Charland called a special meeting to discuss the mayor's agreement with (now retired) Police Chief Larry Scirotto.
• Council interested in revisiting community banking requirements for banks doing business with the City.

Councilman Charland Called a Special Meeting to Discuss the Mayor's Agreement with (Now Retired) Police Chief Larry Scirotto

Context

• Mayor Gainey made an arrangement with Police Chief Scirotto allowing him to referee 40 NCAA basketball games during his personal time off.
• This arrangement was not communicated to the City Council or publicly before news broke after Chief Scirotto refereed a game earlier in October.
• The ensuing public discourse led to Chief Scirotto taking an early retirement.

This Week

• The Council met with Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt, Deputy Police Chief Chris Ragland, and Chief Operations officer Lisa Frank. Chief Scirotto was invited but did not attend. In this disccusion we learned:
  • The City Council opted not to participate in the interview process responsible for hiring Chief Scirotto.
  • In his confirmation hearing roughly 18 months ago, Chief Scirotto, when asked if he had any intention of going back to refereeing, said no.
  • As a result of the 18 months Chief Scirotto served, his pension payment will increase from roughly $55,000 to roughly $94,000.
  • City employees, other than police officers, are allowed to take additional employment as long as it is not on City time.
  • Assistant Chief Chris Ragland will be the Acting Chief for the time being.
  • Multiple council members communicated a complete lack of trust with the mayor's office after this incident.

Council Interested in Revisiting Community Banking Requirements for Banks Doing Business with the City

• The council will allow the mayor to extend contracts with the banking institutions which hold the city's money.
• Every two years, there is a process to approve banks for doing business with the city.
• This process reviews several criteria with a focus on financial safety and investing in the community, including. For a full list, see the end of the article.
• These evaluation criteria are scored out of 5 points and averaged together. Any bank with a score of 3 or higher is eligible to hold City money.
• Councilmembers expressed a desire to revisit these criteria and to raise the bar on the requirements related to investing in the community.

List of Evaluation Criteria

1. Overall Performance Evaluation: Look at how well the bank is meeting the goals it set in its latest Community Reinvestment Plan.
2. Investment Returns: Check the average profits the City is making from its investments with the bank, considering the services the bank provides.
3. Home Loans for Low-Income Buyers: Measure the percentage of home loans (for single to four-family homes) given to low and moderate-income buyers in Pittsburgh over the past year.
4. Home Loans in Low-Income Areas: Determine the percentage of home loans given to buyers in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh last year, broken down by different income levels (low, moderate, middle, upper), if the bank keeps detailed data.
5. Home Improvement Loans in Low-Income Areas: Find out the percentage of home improvement loans given to people in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh last year, categorized by different income levels, if the bank records this information.
6. Small Business Loans in Low-Income Areas: Identify the percentage of small business loans given to businesses in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh last year, based on the bank’s data.
7. Overall Small Business Loans in Pittsburgh: Measure the percentage of small business loans the bank provided to businesses within Pittsburgh last year, following specific local guidelines.
8. Community Development Loans: Calculate how much the bank has lent for community development compared to its total market share in Pittsburgh last year.
9. Community Development Investments: Assess the total amount the bank has invested in community projects (including grants and loans to community housing and financial organizations) as a percentage of its market share in Pittsburgh last year.
10. Eligible Grants and Investments: Determine the amount of grants and investments that qualify under the Community Reinvestment Act (like state tax credits) compared to the bank’s total market share in Pittsburgh last year.
11. Bank Branch Locations in Low-Income Areas: Find out what percentage of the bank’s branches are located in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh compared to all its branches in the city.
12. Additional Evaluation Factors: Every two years, the City Controller might add more ways to assess the bank’s impact on the city, such as the number of volunteer hours by staff, charitable work, and other community support activities.

Note

No survey this week, as we still don't have many readers.