PITTSBURGH -- As the city looks for a new director of its Public Works department, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he doesn't know how or why a change was made in the job qualifications for the vacant position.
Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons reported the position pays $99,000 a year and oversees 600 employees, including professional engineers. A switch in the posting for that job has lowered the education requirement to a high school diploma.
When Public Works Director Guy Costa announced his resignation over the summer, the city sent out a job posting for his replacement. It required at least a bachelor's degree, but a master's degree was preferred.
Last week, that posting was pulled and replaced with one that adds an equivalency clause. A college degree is no longer required if the applicant has nine years of qualifying work experience.
"Stripping it away? Taking it completely out? How can they even defend themselves on that?" City Councilman Bill Peduto said at Tuesday's council meeting.
"No one in the administration has the right, the ability, at all, to make decisions in such a way," Council President Doug Shields said.
Parsons reported that there appears to be two internal candidates to replace Costa. One has a college degree. The other does not.
City Councilman Jim Motznik alleges that City Operations Director Art Victor may have single-handedly lowered the required job qualification to open the job up for someone he supports.
"Who is allowed to make those decisions?" Motznik said. "And I can tell you, it's not the director of operations in the mayor's office."
Ravenstahl said he sees "no reason why the requirements had to be adjusted downward" and he doesn't know why his own staff changed the job posting.
"That's true. I did have no knowledge of that," Ravenstahl said. "The councilman (Motznik) brought it to my attention last week. I was surprised by it, disturbed by it. I'm not sure why it was done."
Late Tuesday afternoon, a statement from Ravenstahl's office said the mayor directed Victor to change the job requirements for the Public Works director's job back to the original requirements, which means a bachelor's degree is necessary.
Sixteen candidates have applied for the job. Only one of them does not have a college degree.
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