►
From YouTube: Pittsburgh City Council Public Hearing - 4/14/22
Description
proposed annexation of the Borough of Wilkinsburg by the City of Pittsburgh
A
A
Members
of
city
council
are
not
involved
at
all
in
the
processing
of
the
annexation
of
wilkinsburg.
It
is
not
our
desire
to
initiate
a
process.
It
is
not
our
desire
to
be
the
arbiter
of
the
process.
There
is
nothing
that
we're
doing
to
actively
to
actively
this
process.
This
process
is
100
led
by
the
wilkinsburg
voters.
A
A
Can
I
finish
please.
There
are
three
parts
to
this.
There
are
three
parts
to
this.
First
of
all,
five
percent
of
registered
voters
in
wilkinsburg
must
provide
a
petition
to
the
to
the
common
pork
to
the
court
of
common,
please.
That
is
not
something
we
initiate
that's
something
that
wilkinsburg
voters
have
to
initiate.
A
A
The
judge
will
then
ask
the
city
council
to
make
a
decision
as
to
whether
or
not
the
voters
of
wilkinsburg
again
as
a
total
can
vote
on
annexation.
So
first
it's
initiated
by
the
voters
of
wilkinsburg.
Our
role
will
be
to
say
yes
or
no.
This
happened
once
before.
So
we
said
no,
because
we
didn't
have
enough
information
and
then
even
if
we
say
yes,
it
goes
back
to
the
voters
of
wilkinsburg
to
make
a
final
determination
and
the
majority
of
voters
in
wilkinsburg
had
to
vote
yes
and
then
the
following
january.
A
After
that
vote,
then
wilkinsburg
would
be
automatically
annexed
as
the
next
community
of
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
and
so
our
role
is
passive
in
the
into
the
effect
of
we
do
not
initiate
it.
It
is
brought
to
us
only
if
five
percent
of
wilkinsburg
voters
asked
us,
then
we'll
make
a
decision,
but
our
decision
is
not
binding.
A
Now
I
want
to
start
off
with
a
short
presentation
to
give
an
overview
and
again
this
is
not
for
or
against,
but
just
the
same
overview
that
we
will
present
at
all
the
public
hearings.
Our
chair,
councilman
lavelle,
is
on
easter
break
with
his
family,
and
so
I
am
filling
in.
The
pittsburgh
reason
is
unusually
decentralized
with
hundreds
of
independent
municipalities.
A
A
A
There
was
in
2011
the
full
integration
of
wilkinsburg
fire
department
into
pittsburgh's
fire
department.
So
we
take
the
garbage.
We
also
do
all
the
fire
protection
for
the
borough
and
then
finally,
the
public
schools.
There
was
a
consul,
a
consolidation
of
wilkinsburg,
middle
and
high
schools
into
the
pittsburgh
public
schools.
So
all
of
the
middle
school
students,
middle
school
students
and
the
high
school
students
also
go
to
pittsburgh
public
schools.
The
only
thing
that
remains
in
wilkinsburg's
control
is
their
grade
schools
and
if
consolidation
happened,
obviously
their
grade.
A
A
A
All
wilkinsburg
firefighters
were
often
offered
positions
with
pittsburgh
fire
departments,
so
there
were
no
layoffs,
and
so
you
have
an
increase
in
efficiency
and
in
service
and
in
response
time,
with
no
reduction
in
jobs.
The
wilkinsburg
garbage
collection,
contract,
2006,
cost
efficiency.
Wilkinsburg
was
already
contracting
with
waste
management,
a
houston-based
private
waste
collection
company.
Before
contracting
with
pittsburgh,
the
contract
with
pittsburgh
has
provided
wilkersburg
with
roughly
680
000
of
savings
annually
compared
to
the
cost
of
contracting
with
waste
management.
A
Pittsburgh
itself
has
a
history
of
merging
services
with
nearby
municipalities,
including
ingram,
my
oliver
and
milver.
So
this
is
not
new
to
us,
ingram
fire
department.
In
2015
I
was
a
member
of
council,
then
pittsburgh
city
council
voted
unanimously
to
provide
fire
fire
services
to
ingram
my
oliver
schools.
My
oliver
and
pittsburgh
share
a
school
board.
The
municipality
also
contracts
ems
services
with
the
city
following
millvale
water
and
sewer
pittsburgh's
takeover
of
millville's
water
system
allowed
for
the
funding
of
system
upgrades
and
repairs.
A
steadily
declining
tax
bases,
steli
steadily
declining
tax
base
and
4.8
property
rate
compared
to
2.3
for
pittsburgh.
So
the
property
taxes
are
double
for
wilkinsburg
homeowners
compared
to
the
owners
of
pittsburgh.
These
structural
challenges
will
limit
the
bureau
and
the
school
district's
ability
to
invest
in
improved
services
underlying
property.
Tax
revenue
will
remain
stagnant
without
tax
growth.
A
I
don't
know
if
we
have
extra
copies
of
the
print
out.
You
can
ask
the
clark
in
the
back
they
should
be
over
on
the
table.
Thank
you
very
much.
Underlying
property
tax
revenue
remains
stagnant
without
tax-based
growth
or
increased
tax
rates
earned
income.
Tax
revenue
is
susceptible
to
economic
cycles,
expenditures,
rising
costs,
including
high
overtime
costs
due
to
the
lack
of
manpower,
aging
infrastructure,
and
so
I
think,
no
matter
what
objectively
wilkinsburg
will
face
some
challenges
in
the
future.
I'm
not
saying
they
cannot
overcome
them,
but
those
those
challenges
are
undeniable.
A
Without
a
merger,
wilkinsburg
will
experience
a
growing
deficit
as
personal
costs
of
pace,
revenue,
high
property
taxes
and
poor
service
constrain
tax
growth,
and
so
it
is
projected
that
you
will
have.
The
borough
will
have
a
deficit
of
0.8
million
dollars
in
2028,
and
the
school
district
will
also
have
a
a
a
2.2
million
dollar
deficit.
A
C
D
A
Correct
everybody
will
get
a
chance
to
speak
and
I
will
not
talk
when
you
talk
and
I
prefer,
if
you
be
polite
enough,
if
you're
able
to
not
talk
when
I'm
talking
now,
the
last
page
talks
about
the
process
of
how
this
will
occur
or
not
occur.
First
of
all,
I'm
assuming
that
there
will
be
the
wilkinsburg
cdc
and
other
advocates
will
once
again
try
to
gather
five
percent
signatures,
and
if
they
are
able
to
receive
that
threshold,
they
will
take
that
five
percent
of
signatures
of
wilkinsburg
voters.
A
They
will
present
it
to
the
allegheny
court
of
common
pleas.
If
they
have
valid
signatures,
the
court
will
have
no
choice.
Given
the
state
law,
it
is
not
optional.
The
judge
does
not
have
a
say
so.
The
only
thing
the
judge
will
decide
is
whether
or
not
the
signatures
are
valid
or
not.
Once
they
receive
the
five
percent
threshold
of
signatures
or
property
of
signatures,
then
it
is
by
order
referred
to
city
council
for
an
up
or
down
vote.
We
absolutely
cannot
take.
No
action.
A
We're
not
allowed
to
the
court
will
demand
that
we
vote
yes
or
we
vote.
No.
We
are
we're
demanded
by
the
court
to
make
a
vote
all
right.
So
if
we
vote
no,
which
we
did
before
and
I
was
one
of
the
no
votes,
I
was
one
of
the
no
votes
for
a
variety
of
reasons,
but
I
was
no
vote
and
if
we
say
no,
then
there's
no
further
action.
A
Yes,
then,
in
the
following
january
of
the
vote,
whenever
the
vote
occurs
in
that
following
january,
you
will
be
the
the
wilkinsburg
would
be
annexed
by
the
city,
but
as
soon
as
a
yes
vote
happens,
then
the
wilkinsburg
officials
and
the
pittsburgh
officials
would
work
to
annex
so
that
there's
no
disruption
in
school
services
or
any
other
in
you
know
in
public
works,
snow
removal,
all
that
sort
of
stuff.
Now
that's
the
facts
as
we
have
been-
and
I
know
there
are
other
opinions.
A
The
next
one
comes
to
the
chair.
It's
the
fastest
way
to
get
this
done
now
this
is
being
recorded.
It
will
be
replayed
on
our
city's
channel.
It
will
be
replayed
on
our
youtube
channel
all
right.
I
need
to
brought
this,
and
so
I
will
announce
the
registered
speakers.
But
if
you're
not
a
registered
speaker,
that's
okay.
At
the
end
of
the
register
speakers,
everybody
here
will
be
get
a
chance
to
speak
and
we
are
roughly
giving
three
minutes
to
speak,
and
so
we
have
david
farkas,
followed
by
bernie
witsel
david.
A
E
Hello:
everyone,
my
name
is
bernie
wetzel.
I
my
family
has
lived
in
wilkinsburg
since
1937.
I
graduated
from
wilkinsburg
high
school,
as
did
my
sister
and
brother,
and
for
the
seven
years
ending
this
past
june.
I
was
president
of
the
board
of
the
wilkinsburg
community
development
corporation,
and
we
did
a
series
of
studies
initiated
studies
that
were
conducted
by
hr
and
a
this
is
the
same
firm
that
guided
the
city
out
of
act,
and
oh,
that
was
pfm.
E
E
E
A
F
The
fact
that
wilkinsburg
is
benefiting
now
from
arrangements
should
be
alleviating
a
lot
of
the
financial
problems
I
do
realize.
I
have
people
that
I
know
who
are
in
wilkinsburg,
and
the
tax
burden
is
purely
the
reason
behind
pushing
for
this.
In
other
words,
they're
asking
the
city
of
pittsburgh
to
take
the
liability
of
their
situation
and
put
that
on
city
residents,
but
the
city
has
neighborhoods
that
need
attention
that
aren't
getting
it.
I
happen
to
know
that
in
sheridan
you
have
belts
over.
You
have
allentown
arlington
northview
heights.
F
F
Turning
it
over
to
the
ura,
isn't
going
to
help
wilkinsburg
with
their
scorched
earth
renewal
process
where
they
assemble
large
blocks
of
land,
and
I
did
hear
somebody
saying
land
grab
that
they
then
turn
over
to
real
estate
speculators
with
huge
subsidies.
We've
seen
this
throughout
the
city
of
pittsburgh
to
put
in
30-year
design
life
cookie
cutter
buildings,
whereas
wilkinsburg
has
had
a
long
history
with
the
pittsburgh
history
and
landmarks
which
have
done
some
excellent
things.
F
Wilkinsburg
is
not
the
only
distressed
municipality
out
of
130
county
has
been
the
one
that
has
been
remiss
in
doing
anything
on
this,
and
I
would
hope
city
council
would
get
behind
pushing
for
that
and
encourage
the
residents
of
wilkinsburg
to
organize
and
push
county
on
that
also.
I
would
hope
that
in
the
past
that
the
city
of
pittsburgh
would
have
a
vote
on
it
as
residents
as
a
referendum,
but
if
that's
not
in
the
legislation,
maybe
it
should
be.
F
The
count
allegheny
county
also
should
be
looking
at
some
things
to
help
the
city
of
pittsburgh
with
a
rail
connection
to
the
airport.
Instead
of
trying
to
go
to
the
east
with
wilkinsburg,
that's
one
of
the
things
that
has
been
very
much
setting
pittsburgh
back
compared
to
other
communities
around
the
country,
but
anyhow
there
are
ways
to
do
a
program
for
neighborhood
revitalization.
F
Instead
of
the
large
program
where
individual
units
could
be
focused
on
with
contracts
that
go
out
through
an
organized
program
to
individuals
who
live
in
the
community,
keeping
that
money
in
the
community,
the
scorched
earth
renewal
process
brings
in
out-of-state
contractors
a
lot
of
times.
The
money
leaves
the
community
and
you're
left
with
what
you've
got
anyway.
Thank
you
very
much.
Thank
you
very
much.
A
G
Hello,
my
name
is
renee
dalney,
hello,
council,
president
kale
smith,
hello,
council,
member
strasburger
and
reverend
burgess.
It
feels
like.
I
know
you
guys
well,
because
I
keep
seeing
you
because
we
keep
doing
this,
I'm
a
long
time
resident
of
wilkinsburg
and
I'm
asking
you
to
vote
no.
If
this
does
hit
your
desk
again,
I
want
to
be
really
clear
that
you
keep
stressing
that
this
is
resident
driven.
But
it's
not,
as
you
say,
it's
five
percent
of
the
residents.
That's
a
really
really
small
slice
of
the
people
in
wilkinsburg.
G
G
By
any
stretch
of
the
imagination,
you've
talked
about
the
fact
that
we
have
some
shared
services
with
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
and
I
think
that
that
we
need
to
be
clear
that
there's
quite
a
difference
between
sharing
services
and
political
independence
and
where
it
makes
sense.
We
are
happy
to
contract
out
with
other
organizations
to
save
money
for
our
services,
but
we
want
to
maintain
and
retain
our
political
independence.
G
The
statistics.
This
is
the
second
time
that
you've
given
us
that
presentation,
which
comes
directly
from
the
wcdc
it
was
done
by
an
outside.
You
know
out
of
the
region
agency,
some
consultant
that
was
paid
hundreds
and
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
to
come
up
with
a
conclusion
that
they
came
up
with,
and
I
I'm
gonna
ask
right
now:
has
anybody
talked
to
our
finance
director,
so
these
numbers
don't
actually
come
from
the
bros
actual
numbers
right.
G
So
may
I
ask
that
before
the
next
time
before
we
have
another
meeting,
will
you
please
and
I'll
reach
out
to
you
and
put
you
in
touch
with
our
finance
director?
So
you
can
get
the
actual
numbers,
because
these
are
just
made
up
numbers
that
were
a
consultant
came
up
with
because
they
were
given
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars.
G
So
the
last
time
in
the
west
end,
you
said
reverend
burgess.
What
I'd
like
to
know?
What
I'd
like
to
hear
is:
what
is
the
plan
for
wilkinsburg?
Oh
poor,
little
wilkinsburg,
if
pittsburgh
doesn't
take
it
over?
What's
going
to
happen
to
wilkinsburg,
and
I
printed
this
from
the
post
gazette.
This
is
your
district.
This
is
home
with
lammer.
It
shows
that
25.4
percent
of
the
total
parcels
in
homewood
lamb
are
owned
by
the
city
of
pittsburgh
and
they're
blighted
and
they're
vacant,
and
they
have
code
violations.
G
G
You
can't
save
the
the
sections
you
have
if
councilman
lavelle
was
here,
I
was
going
to
show
him
his
district,
and
this
again
is
from
the
post
gazette
their
july
expose
on
blight
in
pittsburgh,
and
this
shows
that
for
anybody
who
can't
see
it,
27.9
percent
of
the
parcels
in
perry,
south
and
california
kirkbride
are
owned
by
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
So
I
don't
under
and
I
get
it
right
that
you
guys
aren't
driving
this,
but
there's
just
vote.
No,
you
don't
even
need
to
waste
any
more
time
on
this.
H
A
H
Okay,
here
I
am,
I
am
very
disappointed
that
you
are
using
this
presentation
that
did
come
from
the
wcdc
was
not
created
by
any
department
in
the
city
of
pittsburgh
and,
and
it
took
me
a
while
to
find
out
where
to
get
it.
I
called
council
member
lavelle's
office
and
it's
it's
I'm
used
to
in
wilkinsburg
just
calling
up
the
people
who
are
on
our
council.
H
They
answer
the
phone
right
away
and,
and
it's
very
very
village-like
and
that's
what
I
like
well,
the
people
in
lavell's
office
were
very
polite
to
me
and
they
sent
me
this,
and
I
saw
that
in
fact
it
was
produced
by
the
wscdc
and
it
has
falsehoods
in
it.
When
I
interrupted
you,
I
didn't
interrupt
you
when
I
just
disagreed
with
your
opinion.
I
interrupted
when
you
actually
stated
something
false.
H
False.
False
steadily.
Declining
tax
base
is
in
this
presentation.
That
is
absolutely
not
true.
If
there
is
one
accepted
measure
of
what
our
tax
base
is,
it
is
the
total
assessed
value
as
published
by
the
county
assessment
office.
I
don't
know
what
other
measure
you
would
use.
It
has
gone
up
steadily
since
year.
2017.
H
I
I
There
is
nothing
in
this
report
about
education
or
the
children
or
the
families.
I
don't
know
if
you're
aware,
but
there's
a
good
deal
of
research
out
there,
that
hundreds
of
studies
have
found
that
students
who
attend
small
schools
outperform
those
in
large
schools
on
every
academic
measure
from
grades
to
test
scores.
So
I
know
from
just
a
little
bit
of
research
on
my
own
that,
for
instance,
class
sizes
teacher
to
student
ratios
are
nine
students
to
two
teachers
in
wilkinsburg
and
at
faison
for
instance.
I
Here
in
homewood,
there
are
nine
students
to
one
teachers,
but
what
has
happened
is
the
test
scores.
There's
a
nine
point,
difference
between
the
test
scores.
If
you
look
at
reading
scores
in
wilkinsburg,
it's
32
percent
and
if
you
at
a
proficient
level-
and
if
you
look
at
phase
on
the
reading,
scores
are
23
percent
or
if
you
look
at
math,
the
scores
in
wilkinsburg
are
22
percent
at
a
proficient
level
and
at
phase
on
their
13
percent.
I
I
So
there
are
a
lot
more
information
that
could
be
in
this
report.
I'm
also
concerned
that
turner,
for
instance,
one
of
the
elementary
schools
in
wilkinsburg
was
recently
totally
remodeled,
and
now
I
was
speaking
to
the
wilkinsburg
superintendent
and
he
let
us
know
that
kelly,
the
other
public
school
is
also
about
to
undergo
renovations.
I
B
I'm
going
to
read
fast
I'm
going
to
talk
loud
good
evening,
everyone,
my
name,
is
renee
haynes
johnson.
I
went
to
baxter
belmore
and
westinghouse
back
in
the
day,
but
I've
lived
in
wilkinsburg
for
the
last
37
years.
I'm
here
to
share
with
you
about
a
mishap.
Wilkinsburg
is
undergoing
last
november,
at
sinister
wilkinsburg
community
development,
corporation
forced
city
council,
to
vote
on
annexing
wilkinsburg,
basically
saying
hey
pittsburgh,
we're
willing
to
give
you
wilkinsburg.
If
you
want
her,
we
made
a
lot
of
assertions
to
the
people
that
this
is
a
good
thing.
B
B
If
the
council
votes
yes
on
this
wilkinsburg
and
her
school
district
will
be
forced
to
vote
on,
giving
up
her
independence.
I
personally
would
not
say
yes
to
someone
who
courted
me
in
this
way.
Here's
the
real
deal
pittsburgh
needs
the
population
in
wilkinsburg
to
offset
pittsburgh's
declining
population
to
remain
eligible
for
federal
redevelopment
money.
B
B
The
waiting
list
for
affordable
housing
are
years
long
if
annexation
happens
and
developers
run
bakery
square
type,
businesses
and
housing
up
through
penn
avenue
and
wilkinsburg
just
to
satisfy
the
google
lights
and
such
who
want
to
move
there
in
the
words
of
pittsburgh,
councilman
krauss
wilkinsburg
will
become
bakery
square
2.0
taking
it
further.
I
say
that
wilkinsburg
with
the
rest
of
wilkinsburg
would
become
homewood
east.
B
Supposedly
we're
told
the
city
would
reduce
the
blight
in
wilkinsburg.
I
ask
you
homewood
what
have
they
done
for
you?
Lately,
pittsburgh
can't
handle
its
own
blight,
but
it
does
know
how
to
gentrify
you're
here
tonight,
as
part
of
the
game
city
council
must
play
in
order
to
complete
their
process
and
take
this
to
a
vote.
B
A
J
I'm
patricia
lewis
and
I've
lived
in
wilkersburg,
my
whole
life,
and
so
I've
seen
the
decline.
I
I
know
what
you're
saying
it
has
decreased.
The
biggest
controversy
was
somewhere
in
the
80s.
Something
happened
to
schools,
but
we
who
remain
are
real
work
real
hard
to
keep
things
going,
and
so
I
was
listening
to
your
report.
Pastor,
virgil.
I
just
wondered:
what
would
you
do
for
wilkersburg,
because
right
now
I
go
to
most
of
the
meetings
with
the
council.
You
know
with
the
white
committee,
the
financial
committee
etc.
J
They
see,
you
know
they
seem
to
be
trying
to
keep
wilkersburg
afloat.
What
would
the
city
of
pittsburgh
do
for
the
residents
if,
in
fact,
we
had
a
merger?
I
don't
understand
because
we
know.
Unfortunately,
you
know
there
is
a
lot
of
houses
to
come
down
and
a
lot
of
buildings.
You
know
to
come
up,
so
I
was
wondering
you
know:
what
could
you
tell
the
audience
what
the
council
would
do
if
we
merged?
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
A
K
Hello,
everybody,
hello,
so
I'm
I
am
a
city
of
pittsburgh
resident
and
I'm
definitely
against
the
annexing,
and
let
me
explain
a
little
bit
about
the
type
of
person
that
I
am
I'm
an
activist
and
I've
been
fighting
a
lot
of
the
gentrification.
That's
been
going
on
in
east
liberty,
homewood
and
well
alarmer,
and
I
want
to
say
this
is
that,
first
of
all,
let's
talk
about
all
the
violence.
That's
going
on.
I
had
a
son
who
was
murdered
in
2014
and
still
have
not.
K
They
have
not
solved
any
of
these
crimes.
Now
we
see
that
there's
a
lot
of
violence
soaring.
So
my
question
is:
is
that
how
is
it
that
you
want
to?
You
know
even
consider
according
wilkinsburg
for
annexing
when
you
can't
even
handle?
What's
going
on
right
now,
because
every
time
you
look
at
the
news,
people
are
dying,
you
don't
know
who
did
it
the
police
officers
right
now,
you're
going
to
be
losing
a
whole
lot
of
police
officers
from
what
I'm
hearing?
K
So
this
is
what
I
don't
understand.
Why
is
it
that
you
want
wilkinsburg?
When
again,
you
can't
even
take
care
of
your
own?
You
know
your
own
house,
your
own
back
door,
your
back
your
backyard.
So
again,
I
just
don't
think
that
it's
a
good
idea
again.
All
it
is,
is
a
land
grab.
I'm
just
glad
a
lot
of
you
wilkinsburg
people
here,
because
the
city
of
pittsburgh
again
there's
a
people
talk
about
taxes.
K
Well,
we
have
a
lot
of
taxes,
a
lot
of
taxes
that
people
don't
even
know
about.
So
again,
this
is
just
a
land
grab
burgess.
You
know
he
talks
about
oh
yeah,
he
just
said:
well,
I'm
not
voting
for
it,
but,
yes,
you
did
burgess.
Your
time
is
coming
and
you
know
because
of
the
lawsuit
that
I
have
against
you.
So
your
time
is
going
it's
coming
short,
so,
of
course
you
know
you
want
to
find
a
way
to
see
how
you
can
land
grab.
K
K
So
again,
like
I
said,
is
that
this
is
this:
is
a
land
grab
we
need
to
be.
We
need
to
worry
about
how
we're
going
to
solve
these
murders.
This
should
be
a
meeting.
We
should
have
this
kind
of
meeting
about
talking
about.
You
know,
what's
going
to
happen,
you
know,
how
are
you
investigating
how
you're
going
to
stop
crime,
but
we're
here
talking
about
trying
to
annex
a
a
a
municipality?
K
L
L
So
why
would
you
want
to
do
the
same
thing
to
wilkinsburg
and
wilkinsburg
is
running
smooth,
baby,
okay
and
as
far
as
the
properties
go,
people
are
buying
those
properties
and
fixing
them
up.
On
my
street
alone,
we
have
four
houses
that
were
bought
and
the
people
have
re
reconditioned
them
and
are
selling
them
for
twice
as
much
as
they
bought
them.
For
so
that's
a
bunch
of
bull
and
that's
the
reason
why
the
tax
tax
bureau,
you
guys,
got
all
the
wrong
information.
A
A
D
Thank
you,
council
for
having
me
today.
My
name
is
tony
moreno.
I
ran
for
mayor
the
reason
I'm
here
is
because
there's
a
lot
of
things
I
found
out
about
this
particular
action
going
on.
I
was
asked
to
look
into
it.
I
was
brought
before
a
group
of
people
and
I
asked
a
lot
of
questions
and
found
out
a
lot
of
answers.
Meaning
wilkinsburg
is
pretty
solvent
in
their
budget.
We
all
thought
going
into
this
wilkinsburg
is
going
under.
D
That's
why
the
city
is
going
to
take
them,
and
when
I
learned
what
I
learned
and
why
wilkinsburg
was
suffering.
The
very
first
thing
I
found
out
is
because
of
their
abandoned
properties.
This
is
how
it
works.
Property
goes
abandoned
the
tax
company
that
they
hire
to
gather
those
taxes
go
after
the
people
they
haven't
paid
for
90
days
and
once
that
happens,
they
just
put
it
in
the
default
and
they
raise
their
hands
to
it.
The
answer
to
why
they
do
that
is
because
they
are
not
in
the
real
estate
business.
D
They
just
take
the
taxes
and
it's
up
to
wilkinsburg
to
take
care
of
the
rest,
so
that
falls
on
wilkinsburg
school
district.
I
don't
know
why
it
just
made
up
that
way
and
the
school
district
says
we're
into
education,
we're
not
in
the
real
estate
business,
so
they
sit
and
they
rot
and
nobody
does
anything.
That's
a
problem
you're
losing
tax
you're
losing
population,
because
people
are
being
forced
out
that
were
forced
in
from
the
city
and
they
can't
afford
to
live
there.
D
D
If
there's
a
home
when
you
go
up
and
you
look
up
at
that
value-
okay,
well,
there's
a
house:
it's
about
eighty
four
thousand
dollars
tax
assembly,
I'm
gonna
go
in
and
I'm
gonna
buy
that
house
at
84,
000
or
somewhere
near
there.
How
in
the
world
did
it
jump
up
to
250?
And
now
you
know
that
why
are
you
going
and
having
a
court
hearing
trying
to
reduce
that
tax
number
back
down
to
84
000?
D
That's
like
saying
I'm
going
to
buy
a
lamborghini
and
say
you
know
what
this
is
valued
at
122
000
dollars,
but
I
went
to
auction
and
bought
it
for
three
hundred
thousand,
but
you
know
what
I'm
not
gonna
pay
the
tax
for
the
three
hundred
thousand,
I'm
only
paying
that
tax.
You
know
what
they're
gonna
say,
then
you're
not
buying
this
vehicle.
This
is
how
it
works.
D
Why
is
this
happening?
It's
what
they
did
in
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
You
come
in
and
inflate
the
cost
of
housing.
It
drives
everybody
else
that
can't
afford
it.
They
live
here
because
this
is
their
community.
This
is
where
they
came
up
and
all
of
a
sudden
people
are
pricing
them
out:
they're,
not
building
homes,
for
people
that
are
underprivileged,
they're,
building
apartment
buildings
and
they're,
moving
out
100
percent
of
the
people
and
offering
10
percent
of
them
back.
What
about
the
other
90
of
them?
Well,
that's
coming!
D
So,
let's
look
at
the
good
and
bad.
How
do
you
win
in
wilkinsburg
and
how
do
you
win
in
the
city
of
pittsburgh?
They
need
the
population
in
pittsburgh
and
they
need
your
property
in
wilkinsburg.
You
just
need
the
ability
to
sell
the
abandoned
properties
and
you'll
be
able
to
live.
You
do
not
want
to
come
into
the
city
of
pittsburgh
that
has
the
worst
school
district
in
the
state.
D
Don't
do
it
wilkinsburg
fight
that
good
fight,
you're,
okay,
change,
your
positions
of
leadership
inside
make
yourself
solvent.
You
watch
yourself
grow
you're,
going
to
take
advantage
of
all
the
development
coming
into
your
community
instead
of
spread
out
everywhere
else.
Do
not
trust
them.
They're
lying.
A
M
Brandi
white
cloud
and
I'm
not
a
resident
of
wilkinsburg.
I
used
to
live
there
for
about
20
something
years,
but
I
have
family
members
who
still
live
there.
My
mom
still
lives
there.
She's
been
there
for
over
70
something
years,
and
when
I
lived
in
wilkinsburg
wilkersburg
was
a
vibrant
community.
Everybody
from
the
city
used
to
come
to
wilkinsburg.
We
used
to
have
parades
everybody
loved
wilkinsburg.
People
wanted
to
bring
their
kids
to
wilkinsburg,
so
it
is
a
vibrant
community.
Every
community
has
their
ups
and
downs.
M
Every
school
district
is
in
default
right
now,
just
about
in
the
whole
county.
So
it's
not
just
wilkinsburg,
it's
all
of
allegheny
county
where
these
communities
are
failing,
and
so
it's
not
like
you
have
to
go
in
and
get
them.
What
they
need
to
do
is
find
some
of
this
coveted
money
that
is
out
here,
there's
billions
and
billions
of
dollars
of
covet
money
that
is
allocated
to
the
state
of
pennsylvania
that
wilkinsburg
needs
to
go
and
get
to
revitalize
your
community.
M
You
really
don't
need
the
help
you
can
partner
with
wilkinsburg,
I
mean
with
the
city
and
have
your
community
services
like
the
trash
and
some
of
the
kids
go
there,
but
there's
tons
of
money
that
you
can
go
after.
I
advise
you
guys
to
vote.
No,
you
revisit
it
once
you
can't
keep
coming
back
to
revisit
it.
For
five
percent
of
the
community,
like
95
of
the
other
community,
is
like
a
no,
and
I
know
people
who
are
not
here,
and
you
know
why,
because
they're
tired,
they
think
it's
happening.
M
I
got
a
postcard
from
this
organization.
What
did
it
call
the
cd
they
came
in
the
mail
to
me
that
already
has
it
mapped
out
what
they're
going
to
do
to
wilkinsburg
without
the
consent?
Already?
Yes,
that
in
particular-
and
I'm
like
you
guys,
haven't
even
had
a
meeting.
This
is
before
the
meeting
and
so
they're
already
banking
on
council
to
say:
yes
go
ahead,
let's
go
ahead
and
do
it
you
know,
because
wilkinsburg
is
not
even
worth
the
salt.
It's
in,
that
community
is
growing
every
day.
I
come
it's
just
like
the
city.
M
When
I
come
into
the
city-
and
I
see
east
liberty-
even
though
it's
you
guys
say
it's
gendrified,
you
can
see
the
growth.
I
see
growth
where
there
wasn't
growth,
so
there
is
small
steps
that
are
created
down
there
and
give
them
a
chance
to
keep
moving
in
that
direction.
Yes,
in
the
80s,
every
community
failed
back
in
the
day,
but
right
now
they
are
on
a
growing
spurt.
Let
them
continue
to
grow
in
their
own
community.
Wilkinsburg
is
a
big
community.
It's
not
like
verona
and
penn
hills.
M
It's
not
a
small
section
that
you
could
just
cut
off
from
the
neck
and
say
here
it's
a
big
community.
It
borders
where
I
live
it
borders
on
the
suburbs.
So
it's
a
lot
of
land
that
you're,
saying
hey,
let's
go
ahead
and
see.
If
we
can
do
this,
I
would
say:
vote
no
revisit
it.
Maybe
10
years
from
now,
with
the
help
of
the
city,
the
wilkinsburg
residents,
let
them
have
a
voice
in
it
right
now.
M
M
It
already
mapped
up
the
april
of
next
year
and
what
they're
going
to
do
so
they're
already
putting
it
in
the
heads
that
they
already
have
a
plan
in
motion
and
you
guys
are
on
board
and
so
with
five
percent
of
the
community.
That's
very
small
amount
of
people
and
residents
in
the
area
that
say:
oh
yeah,
let's
go
ahead
and
do
it
without
more
research
and,
like
I
said
the
more
I
come
into
wilkinsburg
the
more
I
see
the
growth
more
businesses
coming
in
more
houses.
M
N
N
N
N
N
N
You
also
talked
about
highlighting
the
graduation
rates
at
westinghouse
high
school,
yet
my
understanding
is
that
the
enrollment
levels
were
so
low
in
wilkinsburg
high
school
that
it
made
the
most
sense
to
merge
the
high
school
with
westinghouse.
Talking
about
my
own
experience
in
the
wilkinsburg
school
district,
I
went
to
turner
elementary.
Someone
highlighted
that,
while
I
was
in
turner
elementary
grade
second,
through
fifth,
the
state
came
in
and
took
over
wilkinsburg
over
turner
elementary
because
the
performance
levels
were
horrible.
N
So
what
I'm
saying
is
that
I
ride
through
wilkinsburg
every
day
I
see
a
lot
of
abandoned
properties.
I
see
a
lot
of
blight
and
I
see
a
lot
of
blight
in
homewood
too.
I
grew
up
on
7336
floryway,
okay,
and
so,
when
you
talk
about
the
city's
ability
to
handle
their
own
backyard,
I
think
what
we
really
need
to
discuss
is
that
there
needs
to
be
a
change
in
leadership.
N
N
O
Hello,
my
name
is
sabrina
gibson,
I'm
a
newly
elected
council
member
in
wilkinsburg
zone,
ward
2.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
when
I
ran
for
office,
one
of
the
things
I
said
to
everybody
was,
I
didn't,
have
a
decision
on
which
way
to
go,
because
I
had
to
investigate
it.
First,
I'm
a
retired
juvenile
probation
officer.
I
also
worked
at
schuman
center
with
mr
crum.
I
also
worked
with
your
brother
in
the
juvenile
department,
but,
as
I
investigated
it,
just
like
you,
mr
burgess,
I
didn't
like
the
way
that
it
came
about.
O
I
don't
like
anybody
to
go,
sneaky
grabbing
a
petition,
a
1903
law
and
enacted
and
go
to
our
residents
and
not
fully
explain
to
them
that
fours
and
what
fours
of
this
petition
you
said
newly
elected.
We
need
some
new
leaders.
I
hope
to
be
one
of
those
new
leaders,
I'm
not
the
only
one
that
was
newly
elected.
We
have
several
that's
newly
elected.
O
O
It
is
the
city
if
we
merge
with
the
city,
you
guys
already
said
you're
raising
your
taxes.
So
what
does
that
leave
us?
That
leaves
us
with
a
new
assessment
and
new
taxes,
I'm
not
for
that.
I
don't
like
anything
sneaky
when
you
go
behind
the
back
to
me,
that's
saying
that
it's
something
that
you
couldn't
bring
to
council,
like
I
said,
I'm
newly
elected,
but
I
know
that
they
didn't
bring
it
to
the
council.
O
You
know
if
it
was
such
a
good
plan
and
you
had
it
all
mapped
out,
as
you
show
on
every
time
that
I've
heard,
then
why
didn't
you
bring
it
to
council
before
I
even
got
on
council?
Why
was
if
this
is
such
a
good
plan?
It
should
have
been
presented
to
council.
I
don't
like
anything
that
goes
behind
the
back,
and
this
is
what
it
is
bottom
line,
I'm
not
with
the
merger.
I
think
that
we're
solid
we're
as
a
matter
of
fact
we're
in
the
process
of
getting
some
of
the
houses
down.
O
As
a
matter
of
fact,
some
of
the
houses
that
fell
down
on
penn
avenue
they
weren't
even
owned
by
the
city
of
wilkinsburg,
who
owned
them
exactamundo
and
they
wanted
to
leave
it
up
for
a
series
of
times.
And
I
we
said
no
come
and
take
that
down,
because
we
have
residents
walking
up
and
down
that
street
every
day.
O
So
guess
what
they're
down
now
we're
not
paying
for
your
stuff
to
be
taken
down
when
we
already
have
our
abandoned
buildings
that
we're
trying
to
bring
down
on
our
own
so
bottom
line,
I'm
not
for
it
and
I
hope
all
our
residents
in
wilkinsburg
get
on
board.
And
let's
do
what
we
have
to
do,
because
the
tigers
still
roars
in
wilkinsburg.
P
Hello,
I'm
natisha
washington.
I
live
at
601
west
street
in
wilkinsburg.
I
grew
up
in
wilkinsburg
all
my
life
from
the
time
I
was
born
to
now,
and
I
wanted
to
talk
about
something
that
I
didn't
hear
enough
about
in
this
conversation,
which
is
unfortunately,
the
racism
and
classism
that
is
in
my
community,
I'm
not
saying
not
to
be
radical,
I'm
not
saying
it
for
shock
value,
I'm
saying
it
because
it's
a
reality
of
this
situation.
P
We
have
people
that
don't
represent
us
that
are
making
decisions
for
us.
My
mother
was
on
school
board
for
28
years
and
while
she
was
on
school
board,
it
used
to
be
very
diverse.
It
was
more
focused
on
the
children.
Since
then,
it
has
become
not
as
diverse
and
the
people
that
are
on
it.
Don't
even
have
children
that
are
in
our
school
district,
yet
they
are
making
decisions
for
us
because
most
of
them
want
to
lower
the
school
tax
that
we
have.
P
I
believe
that
the
wcdc
is
trying
to
do
the
same
thing
with
property
tax.
My
community
is
mostly
african-american,
it's
mostly
moderate
to
low
income,
and
it's
mostly
renters,
so
property
tax
doesn't
really
help
majority
of
our
community
and
the
people
that
I
see
representing
the
cdc
happen
to
not
be
my
community
and
happens
to
be
those
select
few
that
also
want
the
school
taxes
to
be
down.
P
I
read
those
plans
and
I
read
those
documents
and
it
was
more
about
redevelopment
than
what
was
actually
going
to
happen
to
my
community
when
they
did
make
a
community
plan
with
this
wcdc
majority
of
the
goals
that
they
put
on.
Those
plans
were
not
fulfilled
and
they
still
haven't
been
fulfilled
and
they
get
the
npp
money
to
do
that
and
that
work
has
not
been
done.
So
it
shows
you
that
the
wcdc
is
not
really
representative
of
us,
even
with
the
mailer
that
I
got.
P
There
was
not
like
a
miller
that
said,
come
to
a
meeting
to
learn
more
about
what's
happening
with
this
annexation.
It
was
just
this
petition
is
going
to
be
signed
and
then
we're
going
to
be
annexed
when
everybody
who
came
to
these
meetings
asked
for
community
engagement
and
that
was
not
given
to
us.
This
is
the
only
community
engagement
that
we've
had
and
it's
not
our
cdc.
It's
not
the
people
within
our
community.
That's
saying:
hey
residents
come
it
is
you
all
who
are
technically,
not
our
representatives
and
I
went
out
canvassing
for
my
campaigning.
P
P
Changing
will
affect
our
renters
and
we
do
not
want
displacement
in
our
community.
So
I
ask
you
all
to
really
take
a
real,
serious
look
at
community
engagement
and
all
the
comments
that
you
heard,
because
the
cdc
is
not
giving
you
all
the
information
in
the
community
and
it's
very
unfortunate,
but
it's
a
very
real
situation.
So
thank
you
for
listening.
A
I
will
now
turn
over
to
members
of
council
after
the
members
who
are
here,
give
their
comments
I'll
give
some
including
comments
and
answer
some
of
the
questions
that
I
heard
during
public
comment
and
talk
about
next
steps
and
we'll
start
with
the
president
of
council
president
teresa
cal
smith.
Thank
you.
Q
Thank
you.
Everyone
thank
you
for
being
here
tonight
and
especially
the
holiday
weekend.
So
I
appreciate
everyone
being
here
and
I
appreciate
everyone
being
here
and
I
appreciate
every
so.
The
mic
doesn't
work
it's
for
sound
only
for
recording,
so
I'll
talk
really
loud.
So
thank
you,
everyone
for
being
here.
I
appreciate
you
all
being
here.
I
appreciate
that
you
came
tonight
the
night
before
holiday
weekend
so
and
I
want
to
thank
our
clerk's
office
and
all
the
officers
that
have
been
here
tonight.
Q
They
have
been
doing
a
great
job
and
especially
our
imp,
who
covers
all
the
recordings
for
being
here
because
they've
been
keeping
a
really
difficult
schedule
during
this
process.
So
I
want
to
thank
them
for
their
work,
but
I
want
to
thank
you
all
for
being
here.
I
I
heard
your
comments
about
the
finance
director
and
I
would
like
to
to
speak
with
them.
Q
I
think
that,
honestly,
I
think
we
love
wilkinsburg
and
I
think
wilkinsburg
and
pittsburgh
have
a
good
relationship
together.
I
think
it
has
been
the
process.
I
think
the
process
is
flawed.
I
think
it
made
people
feel
as
if
somebody
was
coming
in
and
forcing
something
on
them.
We
don't
have
a
lot
of
facts.
We
have
people
manipulating
facts,
and
I
think
that
is
making
people
feel
very
uncomfortable,
and
I
think
honestly,
if
we
had
an
honest
conversation-
and
we
talked
about
some
of
this-
maybe
all
of
us
would
be
okay
with
it.
Q
But
I
think
it's
the
process,
and
so
I'm
hoping
that
council
follows
the
process
that
we
tried
to
put
in
place
and
that
council
members
do
their
due
diligence
and
look
into
each
of
their
committees,
which
we've
asked
them
to
do
in
the
process
is
to
tell
us
what
their
committees
are
doing
and
what
the
effect
would
be
from
personnel
projects.
Dpw
projects,
including
snow
removal.
What
that
means
for
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
Q
But
you
brought
up
a
lot
of
valid
points
about
property
and
housing,
and
it
is
a
concern
for
my
side
of
town
and
which
is
also,
I
think,
is
concerned
for
councilman
krauss.
He's
made.
That
very
clear
is
that
we
don't
see
the
investment
that
the
east
end
is
seeing
on
our
side
of
town
and
we
do
have
a
lot
of
vacant
and
blighted
properties
on
our
side
of
town.
So
what
happens
to
those
properties?
Is
everything
keeps
pushing
to
the
east
end?
Q
Q
Q
But
I
will
ask
for
council
members
to
give
us
a
briefing
and
an
update
on
where
they
are
with
this
process,
so
that
we
can
hear
that
the
due
diligence
is
being
done.
The
finance
director,
the
finance
director,
is
being
that
that
he
has
had
an
opportunity
to
share
his
numbers
and
information
that
we
have
had
people
doing
their
due
diligence
with
their
committees.
So
I
will
make
sure
that
we
ask
for
that
briefing.
Q
I
am
one
of
the
people
that
as
much
as
I
love
wilkinsburg,
I'm
concerned
about
this
whole
process
and
I'm
concerned
about
the
outcome,
because
I
worry
about
what
it
means
for
my
side
of
town
and
I
mean
selfishly,
but
that's
what
I
was
elected
to
do
so
that's
what
I
was
elected
to
do.
So,
I'm
just
going
to
be
honest.
So
I
have
a
lot
of
concern
about
it.
Q
R
Is
that
yeah?
I
also
voted
no.
The
last
time
we
voted.
I
have
concerns,
and
mostly
my
concerns
were
about
the
amount
of
information
that
we
had,
which
is
why
I
believe,
although
I
don't
sit
on
it,
the
committee
that
is
investigating
this
that
is
doing
is,
is
actually
commissioning
further
research,
so
we
can
get
the
numbers
that
we
are
seeking
that
are
incomplete
from
the
report
that
we've
received
already,
so
I'm
awaiting
those
numbers.
R
I
also
had
concerns
with
the
process.
We
can't
change
the
process,
as
it's
stated
in
the
the
annexation
law
of
the
early
1900s.
I
wish
we
could,
but
as
a
second-class
city
in
the
commonwealth
of
pennsylvania,
we
have
to
follow
a
process.
That's
stipulated
by
that
law,
which
is
that
pittsburgh
city
council
gets
some
sort
of
a
say
and
the
people
of
wilkinsburg
get
a
say,
but
the
wilkinsburg
city
council
does
not
get
a
vote
and
the
people
of
pittsburgh
do
not
get
a
vote
directly
on
this.
R
R
So
that's
that's
work
for
us
to
do
on
city
council
for
sure.
So
I
I
just
I
hear
what
you're
saying
about
community
engagement.
I
hear
what
you're
saying
about
needing
more
information
and
more
numbers
and
more
facts,
and
I
too
am
awaiting
that
so
I'll
reserve
judgment
on
this
whole
issue
until
we
go
through
this
process
and
learn
more.
Thank
you
all.
A
A
A
A
I
am
first
and
foremost
pastor
of
the
nazarene
baptist
church
across
the
street
from
this
place,
and
so
I
am
going
to
as
much
as
I
can
try
to
follow.
What's
the
rule
that
I've
lived
by,
which
is
you
know,
to
love
neighbor
as
self
and
what
you
do
to
the
least
of
these,
you
do
it
unto
me,
and
so
I
said
that
to
say
that
I
I
I'm
really
appreciate
you
coming
out.
I
appreciate
the
diversity
of
positions
and
I
want
to
hear
from
from
all
of
you.
A
So
a
woman
asked
me
specifically,
you
know
what
would
happen
what's
the
good
thing
and
to
to
distill
it
down
to
one
thing
and
not
saying
this
is
right
or
or
the
or
the
reason
you
should
make
a
decision,
but
I
will
say
the
one,
the
most
striking
thing
that
will
happen.
You
ask
me
specifically
I'll
answer
that
question
specifically
the
the
question
they
asked
me
was:
what
would
pittsburgh
offer
wilkinsburg
if
there
was
a
merger,
and
I
want
to
answer
that
question
directly
for
you.
A
What
would
happen
overnight
is
that
all
of
your
property
would
be
worth
more
instantaneously
overnight.
Every
single
property
in
pittsburgh
in
wilkinsburg
overnight
would
be
significantly
worth
more.
The
reason
it
would
be
worth
more
is
because
your
property
taxes
would
be
cut
in
half
that
when
you
buy
a
house,
you
don't
just
buy
the
house
on
what
it
is
worth.
You
buy
the
house
based
on
what
it
is
worth
and
what
you
will
pay
in
taxes
right.
A
Your
mortgage
is
a
combination
of
what
you,
the
loan
you
take
off
from
the
house
right
and
the
amount
you
pay
in
taxes.
Therefore,
when
you
take
out,
you
know,
if
you
take
out
100
right,
that
gets
you
so
much
house,
and
then
you
have
to
pay
the
taxes
on
that
hundred
dollars.
Well,
overnight
that
same
hundred
dollars,
you
will
be
able
to
buy
a
significantly
bigger
house
in
wilkinsburg
overnight
with
that
same
hundred
dollars
and
so
the
property
rates
of
every
property
owner
overnight,
and
this
is
undisputable-
it's
not
personal.
A
So
I'm
that
that's
a
fact
that
overnight,
because
of
the
decrease
in
property
taxes,
every
property
in
books
in
wilkinsburg
will
be
worth
more
money.
That's
just
that's
what
that's
that's
the
biggest
and
most
significant
and
the
reason
really
probably
the
cdc
is
pushing
it.
That
is
the
most
dramatic
difference
that
would
happen
to
wilkinsburg
number
two.
So
that's
that's
that
you
answered
so
you
asked
me.
I
want
to
answer
that
question
right
all
right,
so
let
me
tell
you
about
our
process.
There
are
four
council
members
who
are
part
of
this
task
force.
A
A
The
council
wilkersburg
sent
us
a
letter
saying
they
are
going
to
send
us
two
council
people
we've
not
yet
received
who
those
two
council
people
are
to
work
on
our
task
force.
They
are
certainly
welcome.
There
is
no
secrets
here.
Everything
we're
doing
is
is
public,
so
they
can
they
can.
They
can
send
us
the
president,
we're
waiting
for
the
president
of
their
council
to
send
us
their
two
members.
The
other
thing
that
we
will
do
now
is
we
will
have
at
least
we
have
one
more
meeting,
I
believe
scheduled
for
pittsburgh.
A
Then
we
have
asked
the
president
of
the
mayor
of
wilkinsburg
to
host.
We
can
go
into
wilkinsburg,
we
have
to
be
invited
in
we're
sort
of
like
in
terms
of
yeah.
I
was
going
to
say
a
lot
in
terms
of
if
you're
like.
I
am
a
fiction
reader
right
in
terms
of
vampires
vampires.
You
know
can't
come
into
a
house
unless
they're
invited
in
and
so
we're
sort
of.
A
Although
I
don't
know,
that's
the
right
analogy
right,
but
we
cannot
come
to
wilkinsburg
unless
we
are-
and
I
am
I
am-
I
don't
say
this
publicly-
I'm
an
anne
rice
fan
and
she
was
the
writer
of
props
30
books
on
vampires.
I'm
a
great
I've
read
all
her
books,
so
I'm
a
great
and
rice
fiction
reader,
so
the
president
of
wilkinsburg,
the
mayor
wilkinsburg,
rather
has
said
he
will
invite
us
in
if
invited
in.
We
will
do
exactly
what
you
heard
us
do
today
right
now.
A
The
last
thing
is
this:
this
document
I
read
is
not
our
document.
It
was
a
document
that
we're
using
simply
to
set
the
table.
Council
itself
is
preparing
its
own
document.
Every
member
of
council
has
a
committee.
Each
member
of
council
is
preparing
our
our
investigation
of
the
impact
of
annexation
would
have
on
the
city.
Those
separate
committees
will
come
into
one
document.
This
is
not
our
document,
although
in
probably
the
next
three
or
four
months,
we
will
produce
a
document.
That's
council's
analysis
of
the
merger.
A
That's
why
we're
having
these
meetings
as
part
of
our
analysis,
and
so
probably
we've
been
given.
Six
months
to
do
this
task,
and
so
we
have
a
few
more
months
to
go,
and
then
we
will
produce
a
document
now,
once
we
produce
the
document
in
terms
of
us
being
active,
that
will
stop
our
active
portion.
We
won't
do
anything
else.
If
nothing
comes
before
us,
you
won't
hear
from
us
at
all
talking
about
wilkinsburg
only
if
the
judge-
and
you
have
five
percent
of
your
residents
ask
for
annexation.
A
That
would
then
trigger
us.
If
the
judge
demand
just
decides
those
are
valid
signatures
then,
and
only
then
will
we
get
back
engaged
and
the
president
has
laid
out
this
structure,
this
vehicle
of
investigation,
any
new
municipality
that
comes
to
us
in
annexation
and
the
only
way-
and
the
last
thing
I
will
say
to
you,
because
we've
done
I've
heard,
there's
been
lots
of.
Even
we
didn't
understand
because
we're
a
second
class
city,
we
have
no
other
vehicle
to
merge
with
wilkinsburg
other
than
annexation.
A
We
cannot.
The
state
does
not
allow
us,
we
could
only
merge
with
another
second-class
city
and
there
are
no
other
second-class
cities
in
the
state.
So
we
could
not
merge
with
wilkinsburg
we're.
Not
allowed
to
the
only
vehicle
that
is
permissible
under
state
law.
For
us,
we
can
merge
as
we've
done
fire
or
we
can
public
works,
but
the
only
true
way
we
can't
merge
is
this
annexation
law,
which
is
an
ancient
law
that
was
actually
used
for
the
north
side.
That's
how
the
north
side
became
part
of
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
A
Allegheny
city
was
annexed
into
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
After
that
happened,
they
changed
the
law.
They
changed
them
because
in
that
in
that,
in
that,
in
that
vote,
both
municipalities
voted
and
what
happened
was
the
two
votes
were
put
together
and
they
had
more
residents
in
pittsburgh,
and
and
so
they
changed
it.
A
They
wanted
to
make
sure
the
statement
went
to
make
sure
that
no
other
municipality
could
be
annexed
against
their
will,
which
is
why
the
bigger
municipality
doesn't
get
the
vote
to
make
sure
to
ensure
that
the
that
they
annex
that
the
small
municipality
cannot
be
annexed
against
their
will.
The
law
was
changed
to
make
sure,
so
the
only
way
annexation
happens
at
the
end
of
the
day.
The
only
way
it
happens
is
if
the
majority
of
voters
of
wilkinsburg
vote.
Yes,
that
would
not
be
my
decision,
regardless
of
how
I
vote
on
council.
A
That
will
not
be
my
decision.
That
would
be
your
neighbors
and
your
friends
now.
So
that's
the
so
we
will
have
one
more
meeting
in
the
city.
We
hope
to
have
again
the
mayor
of
williamsburg
said
he
will
invite
us
and
we've
been
coordinated
with
him.
We
hope
to
coordinate
two
meetings
in
wilkinsburg
where
again
bring
all
your
friends.
We
want
to
hear
you
we
would,
then
we
would
then
issue
our
report,
probably
around
september
end
of
august
september.
Something
like
that.
A
Once
we
finish
our
report,
we
will
stop
there'll,
be
no
other
action
from
council.
Our
action
now
is
to
listen
to
you.
Follow
our
report.
Stop.
The
only
way
we
become
back
engaged
is
if
there
is
a
court
action.
If
the
voters
of
wilkinsburg
find
a
petition,
it
goes
to
a
judge.
The
judge
says
that
they
are
valid
and
then
he
sends
us
a
decree
demanding
that
we
take
action
then,
and
only
then
will
we
act,
and
so
the
and
and
the
last
thing
this
is
just
my
advice.
This
is
on
a
personal.
A
This
is
ricky
burgess.
Now
I
have
said
this
privately
publicly
to
anyone
who
listened.
If
I
was
a
member
of
wilkinsburg.
If
I
lived
and
my
brother,
everybody
knows
my
brother
lisa
works
by
he
looks
just
like
me.
Right
sounds,
like
me,
looks
like
my
brother
looks
exactly
like
me
and
he's
been
a
member
he's
been
living
in
wilkersburg.
You
know
he's
been
living
in
wilkesboro
close
to
40
years,
and
here's
where
I
tell
anyone
who
will
listen.
A
The
real
power
is
in
the
voters
of
wilkinsburg,
and
I
would
I
would
suggest
to
you
and
that's
how
democracy
works
spend
all
your
time
and
if
you
talk
to
them,
perhaps
they
won't
sign
the
petitions
right
and
you'll
never
get
the
five
percent
and
then,
if
it
does
get
for
five
percent,
and
if
we
do
happen
to
approve
it,
then
you
can
still
talk
to
them
and
get
them
to
vote.
No.
The
power
is
in
the
wilkinsburg
voters.
A
I
would
spend
all
of
my
energy
99
of
my
energy,
not
in
trying
to
convince
the
wilkinsburg
voters
of
my
position
if
you're
for
it,
I
would
try
to
convince
them.
It's
a
good
thing.
If
I
was
against
it,
I'd
try
to
tell
them
that's
a
bad
thing.
Now
we
don't
have
any
more
conversations
in
a
public
hearing.
However,
after
I
close
this
meeting,
I'm
not
leaving,
I
live
what
seven
blocks
from
here
right.
A
I
love
seven
blocks,
I'm
not
going
anywhere
I'll
stay
here
till
everybody
leaves
I'll,
be
the
last
one
I'll
list
I'll
listen.
I
have
my.
I
have
my
cards
here.
I
have
my.
I
have
brought
business
cards
I'll,
get
my
cell
phone
number
out
I'll,
listen
to
everyone
before
you.
You
know
I'll
be
the
last
one
to
leave,
and
you
can
you
know,
say
whatever
you
want
I'll,
listen
and
then
I'll
see
you
may
perhaps
some
of
you
at
our
next
meeting.
A
Hopefully
when
we
come
to
orkinsburg,
hopefully
you'll
invite
us
in-
and
I
hope,
we'll
have
a
great
turnout
and
we'll
listen
and
hear
from
wilkinsburg
in
wilkinsburg
what
their
concern
is.
Okay,
all
right!
So
that's
the
process
I've
laid
out.
Hopefully
I've
answered
most
your
questions
and
I
will
be
here
to
privately
off
camera
answer
the
rest
of
your
questions,
anything
else
from
members.