Committee approves $7.9 million transfer to equipment leasing authority, adds public safety director as signatory amid fleet concerns

City Council’s Intergovernmental and Educational Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to recommend approval of a cooperation agreement to transfer up to $7,904,053.42 to the City of Pittsburgh Equipment Leasing Authority (ELA) for vehicle and equipment purchases and leasing.

The committee also approved an amendment adding the director of the Department of Public Safety as a signatory for the ELA and making several small budget adjustments to the package. The committee chair, Councilman Anthony Mosley, presented the bill and the amendment; the amendment passed before the committee gave the bill an affirmative recommendation.

Why it matters: Committee members and fleet officials said the city’s vehicle fleet is overdue for replacement, and scheduled purchases through the ELA are intended to address ambulances, fire apparatus and other high-demand vehicles. Fleet leaders and the council budget director described supply-chain lead times and the need for sustained annual investment to avoid escalating maintenance costs.

Furman Morris, senior manager of fleet services, told the committee the city currently operates a fleet of about 1,300 vehicles and that roughly 486 of those vehicles are more than 10 years old. He said the ELA leases seasonal equipment (for example, snow-removal pickups during winter) and also manages leases for larger apparatus including fire vehicles and ambulances.

Peter McDevitt, city council budget director and ELA board treasurer, described the resolution as the annual authorization for vehicle purchases and leasing through the ELA and said the amendment primarily added the public safety director as an additional signatory because “we’re using his money.” McDevitt said the committee added about $2,200 to shore up December budget lines and that the amendment also included other small adjustments.

Council members pressed fleet officials on priorities and timelines. Morris said heavy-duty vehicles such as dump trucks and fire apparatus have lead times of about one to two years; even ambulances can take up to two years depending on the supplier. Morris and McDevitt said smaller fleet items are more readily available, but that the city is “climbing out of a hole” created by years of underinvestment.

Councilman Corey Wilson and other members urged creative solutions while acknowledging constraints on funding. Discussion referenced a fleet replacement study that recommended a recurring annual investment of roughly $22 million to maintain a fleet of Pittsburgh’s size; Morris and the ELA board said the city currently budgets far less and is dependent on a mix of PAYGO and operating funds to pay for replacements.

Committee members also raised operational details: Morris said the ELA leases snow vehicles for a short winter term (approximately four months) and that the authority is managing three ambulances that are paid for but awaiting delivery, plus one ambulance included in the current package — for a total of four new ambulances once deliveries are complete.

The amended bill passed the committee with an affirmative recommendation. The matter will go to full council for consideration.

Votes at the meeting: Committee members approved the amendment to Bill 1378 and then approved the bill as amended; the clerk recorded the result as an affirmative recommendation.