Pittsburgh, through consultants Public Financial Management and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott,
The western Pennsylvania city of 306,000 is subject to state financial oversight by the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, known commonly as Act 47. Pittsburgh City Council and Mayor William Peduto will review the recovery plan in June.
Peduto, a former councilman who took office in January, veered from predecessor Luke Ravenstahl and sought to keep Pittsburgh under state oversight, even though the city underwent a series of bond-rating upgrades from its junk status of 10 years ago. Peduto wants leverage in municipal labor negotiations and to forge a long-term agreement with nonprofits for payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT payments.
Both are essential to curbing debt and maintaining structural balance, according to Peduto. "They fit together like pieces in a puzzle," he said in a Bond Buyer interview in February.
In January, Standard & Poor's raised Pittsburgh's general obligation bond rating to A-plus from A, marking the city's 11th upgrade in a decade-long climb from junk status.
Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service rate Pittsburgh A and A1, respectively. All three agencies assign stable outlooks.
