Other incidents[edit] On August 27, 2008, Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Pat Ford resigned in a tersely worded letter to Ravenstahl and Chief of Staff Yarone Zober.[74] The letter claims that the Ravenstahl administration is characterized by a “culture of deception and corruption.”[75][76] When asked to substantiate these rumors of corruption, Ford lawyer Lawrence Fisher replied: the way contracts are supposed to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, and the way contributions have been made to the mayor, I think its self-evident.[77] Specifically, Mr. Fisher referred to the recent awarding of a URA contract to the highest of three bidders, contrary to Pennsylvania state law that states such contracts must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.[78] In addition to the claims of corruption, Ford called Ravenstahls a failed administration that forced him to serve as a scapegoat for the inappropriate affairs and activities of others.[79] Councilman William Peduto issued a statement that the contracting issue goes much further than Pat Ford. Pittsburgh is no longer a city that is open for business; Pittsburgh is a city for sale.[80] In December 2006, Matthew McTish, president of McTish, Kunkel & Associates, gave $10,000 to Ravenstahls campaign. In August 2007, McTish, Kinkel & Associates was awarded a $525,000 contract by the Urban Redevelopment Authority despite being the highest of three bidders.[78][81] That contract, and other URA dealings, are currently under investigation by the City Controller.[82][83][84] In February 2009, Ravenstahl was criticized for having spent $252,000 of state grant money in 250 trash receptacles bearing his name. The criticism for each trash can, costing over $1,000 a piece, was that (1) the mayor overpaid for them and (2) the display of his name equated into using taxpayer money for publicity purposes.[85] Because of the upcoming Pittsburgh mayoral election (Which Ravenstahl then dropped out of), numerous people cited a conflict of interest since the new trash had Ravenstahls name on them while he is running for reelection. However, under the Peduto Administration, the trash cans and all other public places will have all public officials names stripped from them. The current administration also banned placing any name of a public official on any public space.[86] On September 25 and September 26, 2009, the city of Pittsburgh hosted the G20 Summit. During the event, over 190 people were arrested, many of whom were students.[87] As a result of what many felt was an excessive police presence in response to protesters, many blamed Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who were in charge of preparing for the G-20 event.[88][89][90] On November 10, 2009, Ravenstahl introduced the proposed budget to the City Council, which included a 1% privilege tax on student tuition.[91] Students attending the Community College of Allegheny County, which has an annual tuition of $2,700, would be required under the proposed plan to pay a tax of $27 while students attending the University of Pittsburgh, which has an annual in-state tuition cost of $13,500, would have to pay $135. Students attending Carnegie Mellon University, which has an annual tuition rate of over $40,000, would be required to pay $400 a year despite the fact that only 20% of CMU students are in-state students and thus permanent residents of the state of Pennsylvania.[92][93] Students have been critical of the proposed tax, arguing that it unfairly burdens students who attend universities with higher tuition rates.[92] Also included in the tax were the downtown universities of Carlow University, Duquesne University, Chatham University, and Point Park University. Along with the trade schools such as Pittsburgh Technical Institute and Kaplan, Inc. and theological seminaries that included Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Arts and culinary schools of downtown Pittsburgh were also targeted for the tax which included Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, and Pittsburgh Filmmakers School of Film, Photography, and Digital Media.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Ravenstahl
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 04:34:43 +0000
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