Votes at a glance: standing committees advance range of contracts, capital and operational items

At Wednesday’s standing committees, Pittsburgh City Council members recommended approval on a variety of operational, contract and capital items. Most measures were handled with brief committee discussion or procedural questions and were advanced to the full council with affirmative recommendations. Highlights below reflect committee action recorded on the meeting agenda.

Withdrawn items - Bill 16-67 and Bill 16-91: Motion to withdraw (tuition reimbursement item for Mohammed Birney, amount tied to a $33,292 transfer in the operating budget). The motion to withdraw was approved at the outset of committee business.

Emergency warrants and small procurements - Bill 18-68: Approved — resolution authorizing issuance of a warrant in favor of Adler Tree Service for emergency storm response to remove a tree that fell on a residence at 205 Millbridge Street (Pittsburgh 15210) on 03/13/2025, amount not to exceed $6,750.

Legal and consulting services - Bill 18-69: Approved — amends a prior resolution to extend a professional-services agreement with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C., for human-resources-related legal services by one year and increases the not-to-exceed amount by $40,000 for a new total not to exceed $80,000 over two years. Committee asked law department to follow up with clarification on case specifics.

Routine approvals and invoices - Invoices: Approved — committee noted several invoices related to McGann and Chester and flagged follow-up on contract renewal for that vendor. - P-cards: Waiver approved and P-card transactions approved (noting a $5,600 Department of Public Works transaction for bulk purchase of solid-waste stickers that exceed the $5,000 single-transaction limit and requires a waiver).

Public safety and equipment donations - Bill 18-63: Approved — donation from Allegheny Kiski Health Foundation of $9,090 to purchase compressed air carts for EMS. - Bill 18-64: Approved — warrant in favor of Purvis Systems Inc. for batteries and installation services for the station-alerting system at the training academy and Fire Station 7, not to exceed $50,245.

Public works and transportation - Bill 18-99: Approved — authorizes paving the concrete portion of Verona Boulevard (Poquita Road to 7281 Verona Boulevard) with asphalt in accordance with local code requirements. - Bill 18-70: Approved — supplemental agreement with Gannett Fleming Inc. for Smithfield Street Reconstruction Project, increase not to exceed $1,707,042.29 (an increase of $227,715.25) for final design and construction phases.

Economic and workforce programs - Bill 18-61: Approved — authorization to enter agreements and pay expenditures for the Joint Jobs Initiative Program (Employment Advancement and Retention Network) with a cost not to exceed $3,828,594 to support and administer the program.

Technology, performance and records - Bill 18-84: Approved — amends prior resolution to update vendor name to Unis Solutions (formerly Questica), extend subscription term one year and increase approved amount by $86,625 for a new total not to exceed $499,125 over six years. Committee discussion covered software functions for multiyear salary projections and RFP plans for future ERP consolidation. - Bill 18-85: Approved — extends Workiva subscription service one year and increases the approved amount by $56,623.67 for a new total not to exceed $277,967.81 over six years; committee members discussed the software’s role in document production and recurring reporting. - Bill 18-65: Approved — amendment to an enterprise-wide content-management contract with eDOCS Technologies LLC to add funding for Police Bureau document imaging, increasing the total by $31,640 for an amended total not to exceed $3,031,640. - Bill 18-66: Approved (affirmative recommendation; recorded: one no vote) — amends an existing agreement with b3 solutions, Inc. for continued software maintenance and transition guidance by increasing the approved amount by $12,000 for an amended total not to exceed $2,141,321 over eight years. Committee discussion noted long-running migration off b3 and the need for dual-processing assistance from b3 in the near term to validate new systems for real-estate and tax processing. - Bill 18-67: Approved — amends a prior resolution (Root Smart Technologies Inc.) to add the director of the Department of Innovation and Performance as a signatory for an existing routing optimization contract for trash and recycling systems.

Committee members asked for additional follow-up and clarifications in some cases: questions ranged from technical details about software integration and planned ERP work to the status of outstanding contracts mentioned in the invoices section. Where requested, law, finance and IMP staff agreed to provide further written updates before final council action.