Pittsburgh City Council approves series of routine resolutions, schedules public hearing on police chief nomination

Pittsburgh City Council on Feb. 11 approved a slate of finance, public works, public-safety and other resolutions and voted to hold the nomination of Christopher Ragland for chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for interview and a public hearing.

The measures passed included agreements, grant acceptances and settlements across several departments and programs. Council members recorded unanimous roll-call approvals on the committee reports considered for final action. Separately, council members said they would schedule a public hearing and an interview for the Ragland nomination after requests from community groups, including the NAACP.

Why it matters: The adopted resolutions authorize city spending, grant matching and legal settlements and advance infrastructure and public-safety agreements. The decision to hold the Ragland nomination for further public review signals council interest in broader community input for leadership of the police bureau.

Council action and key measures Council adopted committee reports that included the following resolutions and authorizations (bill number as read at council, as described in the meeting):

- Bill 14-09: Amend leadership development contract with Pittsburgh Futures, increasing authorized spend by $76,800 for a new total not to exceed $338,136 over four years. (Committee: Finance and Law) - Bill 14-10: License agreement allowing the mayor and director of finance to permit Pittsburgh Steelers LLC to use the city seal on official Steelers-branded merchandise at no city cost. (Finance and Law) - Bill 14-37 and related amendments: Amendments increasing authorized spends for interpreter/translation services and related contracts (Global Wordsmiths increase $38,000; Center for Hearing and Deaf Services unchanged). (Finance and Law) - Bill 14-38 and Bill 14-39: Warrants authorizing payments for settlement of litigation matters in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (amounts described in the bills). (Finance and Law) - Bill 14-40: Increase complete-streets funding by $221,600 to reflect additional Federal Highway Administration funding. (Finance and Law) - Bill 14-41: Agreement with Morante Contracting Inc. to provide access to city parcels to support retaining-wall and sewer rehabilitation work at no cost to the city. (Finance and Law) - Bill 14-33: Increase funding for the ambassador program in the Central Business District to assist police with noncriminal matters; increased amount by $1,200,000 for an amended total not to exceed $2,400,000 over four years. (Committee: Public Safety and Wellness) - Bill 14-12: Eminent domain resolution to acquire certain easements necessary for sidewalk and related public-transportation work; payment of just compensation not to exceed $25,000 (80% reimbursable). (Committee: Public Works and Infrastructure) - Bill 14-42: Amended reimbursement agreement with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for Sylvan Avenue multimodal path construction, not to exceed $1,809,585 (increase of $277,000). (Public Works) - Bill 14-43: Amended agreement with PennDOT for East Carson Street supplemental improvements; city share not to exceed $942,001.11 (increase of $55,838.12). (Public Works) - Bill 14-36: Acceptance of a semi-quincentennial grant up to $20,000 from America250PA for the city’s Independence Day celebration. (Committee: Recreation, Youth and Senior Services) - Bill 14-34: Increase for Foster & Foster municipal-pension contribution data system contract, amended total not to exceed $625,000 over five years. (Committee: Innovation, Performance, Asset Management & Technology) - Bill 14-35: Adoption of a plan revision to the city’s official sewage facilities plan for 09/2022 at no cost to the city. (Committee: Intergovernmental & Educational Affairs)

Vote tallies For the committee-report final actions recorded in the meeting transcript, council conducted roll-call votes. The roll-call votes that appear in the record show unanimous approval on the final-action items listed above with nine recorded affirmative votes (the names recorded during roll call were: Mr. Charland; Mr. Coghill; Councilwoman Deborah Gross; Councilman Kahari Moseley; Councilwoman Theresa Kale Smith; Councilwoman Erica Strasburger; Councilwoman Barbara Warwick; Councilman Bobby Wilson; and Councilman Daniel Lavelle). The transcript records “9 ayes” for the bills during the final-action roll calls.

Police chief nomination: interviews and a public hearing Councilman Bobby Wilson presented Bill 14-99, the resolution appointing Christopher Ragland as chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. The council voted to hold the nomination for interview and also to schedule a public hearing so residents could offer input.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, who formally called for a public hearing, said the hearing would be held in chambers and that he would “reach out to Mr. Davis and the NAACP” to coordinate. “I would like to call for a public hearing here in chambers. And I’ll reach out to Mr. Davis and the NAACP and see if they want to coordinate,” Coghill said during the motions discussion.

Councilman Bobby Wilson said he wanted the public to be heard on what they expect from the next chief. “I personally want to hear from the public as to what they expect out of our next chief,” Wilson said. Several members asked that any public process include evening or weekend options and remote participation to increase access.

Outcome and next steps The motion to hold the Ragland nomination for interview and to schedule a public hearing passed; council members asked the clerk’s office to work with council offices and community groups on scheduling. No final confirmation vote on the appointment occurred during the Feb. 11 meeting.

Public comment and other business During the public-comment period, residents raised a range of concerns including accessibility at private business ramps, sidewalk and pavement conditions, bed-bug infestations at a shelter, traffic-safety at an intersection, and remarks on immigration policy and robotics programming. Those comments were recorded for the public record but did not result in immediate council action during the meeting.

What’s next: The council said it will schedule the interview and public hearing on the police chief nomination and will continue to advance the passed resolutions through standard administrative steps, including any intergovernmental reimbursements and contract signings described in the bills.