PITTSBURGH -- Mayor Luke Ravenstahl presented his 2010 budget to the City Council on Monday. While some of his proposals are likely to be unpopular, Ravenstahl said the changes are needed to get Pittsburgh out of its current financial distress.
The budget includes a proposed tax all college students will have to pay. The 1 percent "college-education privilege tax" would be levied against anyone paying tuition at a college in the city -- including universities, art schools and culinary schools.
"I wish we didn't have to do this, but we have no choice," Ravenstahl said at the City Council meeting on Monday.
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Watch Bob Mayo's Report From City Council MeetingThe tax would be based on 1 percent of annual tuition. For example, a student paying the in-state rate of $13,500 at the University of Pittsburgh would owe $135 a year, and a student paying $2,700 tuition at Community College of Allegheny County would be taxed $27.
Later in the day, the University of Pittsburgh said in a statement that it will "vigorously oppose any attempt to impose a service or privilege fee on our undergraduate and graduate students" and that "we do believe we are paying our fair share for city operations ... through direct and indirect support."
"Carnegie Mellon University is responsible for the attraction of numerous Fortune 500 companies to the region, including Google, Intel, Apple, Disney and Caterpillar, and these relationships have generated more than 250 jobs for promising young professionals who may not otherwise have stayed in Pittsburgh," said a statement from CMU, which also opposes the idea of a tax on students.
The
Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education, which represents a number of colleges and universities, said it will respond to Ravenstahl's proposal at a news conference on Tuesday.
Budget Tweets: Channel 4 Action News' Bob Mayo follows the council meeting on Twitter The mayor said the tax is simply asking students to pay their fair share and he doesn't want to put a heavier burden on Pittsburgh taxpayers.
"When Carnegie Mellon students spend their Friday night on the South Side, they get a little rowdy and Councilman (Bruce) Kraus calls police to break them up, who pays the bill?" Ravenstahl told the council. "I wish we didn't have to do this, but we have no choice," he later told Mayo.
"I do think it's a fair thing to do," Pitt sophomore Jeff Ludwig told Channel 4 Action News, "but obviously, I'm not happy about it because it hurts me. But overall fairness -- yeah, I think it's a good idea."
"At the same point, we're just college students, and to put that onus on us, I don't know if that's fair," Pitt senior Mark Thornhill said.
Councilman Bill Peduto questioned whether the city has the authority to impose such a tax, but Ravenstahl said, "We're confident that this tax is a legal tax and will withstand a court challenge. We expect a court challenge from the colleges and universities within the city of Pittsburgh, but we've done our research."
Ravenstahl said the tax would raise around $16 million annually -- some of which would be used for the Carnegie Library, which recently announced that it intends to close four locations because of budget issues.
In response, the Carnegie Library issued a statement on Monday saying, in part, that administrators would "work collaboratively with the mayor and others who want to guarantee that Pittsburgh's library system remains strong for all generations" but they also need time to evaluate Ravenstahl's proposal.
Ravenstahl's proposed budget also favors long-term leases of the city's parking garages and meters to private companies. He estimated it would raise $200 million for a one-time infusion of cash to the city's pension fund.
During the council meeting, the mayor said city residents bear a disproportionate and constantly increasing share of the tax burden, as tax-exempt nonprofits expand their presence in Pittsburgh. An additional $15 million a year in city revenues must be generated, he said.
Ravenstahl's proposed budget provides funding to double the demolition of nuisance properties and increase street paving by more than 33 percent, he said.
Ravenstahl also said that his proposal cuts debt by 15 percent and, if the council approves the budget, he will ask the state to remove Pittsburgh from its current status as a financially distressed municipality under Act 47.
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