PITTSBURGH -- Auditor General Jack Wagner said the Port Authority of Allegheny County is wasting money by leasing prime office space for its headquarters.

The mass transit agency wants to cut bus routes and raise fares because of an $80 million budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Wagner said the Port Authority is paying $15.5 million for a 10-year lease of two floors at the Heinz Center Downtown, even though Wagner said the agency doesn't use all that space.

Wagner said the agency should move its headquarters back to the city's North Side to a half-vacant building it already owns.

"This decision to rent luxurious office space was a bad management decision and set a bad example for how the Port Authority of Allegheny County should be spending public money," said Wagner.

Wagner said the agency moved out of the building in 2000 after spending nearly $5 million on renovations.

"The fact of the matter is: it would be more expensive for us to vacate this premise now than it would be to stay," said Port Authority CEO Stephen Bland. "We have about three and a half years left on the lease, which we would have to pay off. "

On Thursday, the Port Authority hosted another of its public hearings into the proposed rate hikes and route cuts.

The hearing started at 4 p.m. at the West View Fire Hall on Perry Highway.

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