Council accepts UPMC donation and packages donor funds with city allocations to modernize fleet
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Summary
Council approved acceptance of a $10 million donation from UPMC to purchase emergency medical vehicles and amended a fund transfer so donor dollars and city appropriations are combined, producing roughly $27 million for fleet modernization this year, council members said.
Pittsburgh City Council on Feb. 10 voted to accept a $10,000,000 donation from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to purchase emergency medical service vehicles and equipment and amended a separate transfer to the Equipment Leasing Authority so donor and city funds can be used together to modernize the municipal fleet.
Councilman Anthony Coghill presented Bill 72, which authorizes the mayor to accept UPMC’s $10,000,000 gift for EMS vehicles and equipment. The bill was approved on a final roll call with all recorded votes 'Aye' (9 ayes, 0 nos).
Council later discussed Bill 73, which authorizes transferring up to $20,188,019 to the City of Pittsburgh Equipment Leasing Authority to purchase and lease vehicles and related services. Councilman Carrie Mosley and others said the amended language captures an additional $7,000,000 that had been received by the city as donations and that packaging the donations with budgeted city allocations would speed procurement.
Council members clarified donors and amounts during discussion. One committee statement described the $7,000,000 as 'half of the $10,000,000 donation that UPMC made over 2 years.' Council leadership then specified the recent additional $7,000,000 consisted of $5,000,000 from UPMC and $2,000,000 from the PNC Foundation. Council staff and the controller’s office were cited as saying the city still faces larger, ongoing fleet needs — an estimate cited in committee remarks was about $40,000,000 per year for several years to avoid future shortfalls.
The amendment to Bill 73 was moved, seconded and approved; the final roll call on the amended transfer again recorded unanimous recorded votes in favor and the measure passed.
What it means: The actions put roughly $27,000,000 of combined city and donor funding toward vehicle procurement and related services this year, according to council statements. Council members emphasized gratitude for donor support but cautioned the contributions do not replace longer‑term, sustained annual investment that officials said would be required to fully modernize the fleet.
Next steps: Procurement and the Equipment Leasing Authority will proceed with vehicle purchases under the amended agreement; council announced committee meetings where related implementation details can be monitored.