Colin McNickle stories, Page 6

A large majority of municipal pension plans in Allegheny County are in good shape. But the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused tremendous economic damage, could challenge those plans’ health and deepen the woes of plans already struggling, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “With the fiscal...

Government jurisdictions of all sizes find themselves struggling with how to recoup lost tax receipts because of coronavirus pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions. But there are sound public policy prescriptions to recover from such shortfalls. And poor ones. A researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy proposes a sound, common-sense...

The beleaguered Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) has proposed merging six of its 14 schools into three. But an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy concludes that would be easier said than done. “Given all the obstacles to any reorganization, the chancellor and the trustees face...

What happens when, after tax dollars are dubiously conscripted for the benefit of private entities — and at the expense of the public weal — a pandemic hits? Allegheny County taxpayers might be about to find out, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. The Pittsburgh-Allegheny County...

It was in April that Allegheny County, under the auspices of Pennsylvania Act 152 of 2016, increased by $15 the fee to record deeds and mortgages. The money is to be used to pay for the demolition of “blighted properties.” Allegheny County’s document-recording fee is now $181.75. Since 2013, when...

It was a challenging 2019 for a shale gas industry beset with a glut of product that kept prices low and aging wells as the impact fee distribution numbers for 2020 attest, shows an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. And while those prices remain a wild card...

It should come as no surprise that Pennsylvania’s casinos have seen a major reduction in overall revenues during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. After all, the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf deemed them “nonessential” businesses early in the pandemic, forcing them to close in mid-March and all of April and May....

The Greater Pittsburgh economy was dealt a huge blow by the coronavirus-related lockdown of businesses and citizens. And the latest-available payroll jobs numbers for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) show a halting and uneven jobs recovery, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The impact will...

If graduation criteria for Pennsylvania high school students set to begin with the class of 2022 were in effect today, a large percentage of students in a diverse group of 16 Allegheny County school districts would not meet the basic requirements, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public...

“Disingenuous and misleading.” That’s how a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy characterizes the American Lung Association’s continual misrepresentation of air quality in the greater Pittsburgh region. “Why is such a large geographical area being labeled as having poor air quality because of three monitors situated in one...

Pennsylvania’s general fund coffers took a major hit because of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. But the full scope might not be evident until next year, and state government must take serious steps to facilitate recovery, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The pandemic of 2020...

The Port Authority of Allegheny County, its ridership pummeled by the coronavirus-sparked shutdown and future funding streams a question mark, must begin to economize, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Given financial resources will be even more scarce in the new fiscal year, steps must be...

Allegheny County, its economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and struggling to meet its revenue needs, may have to tap fund reserves and resort to furloughs, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The economy of Allegheny County has been savaged by the coronavirus and...

The long financially troubled and often politically hacked Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) faces a challenging road ahead as it attempts to cleanse its operations of past failures and meet new state oversight mandates, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “(T)the scope of the PWSA’s...

Wrestling with a serious coronavirus-induced revenue shortfall, the City of Pittsburgh must cut spending and cannot afford to raise taxes, conclude researchers at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Now would be a perfect time to look at money-saving proposals — such as privatization and outsourcing — to reduce city...

We’ve lost count of how many times the “we-know-better crowd” has proposed a Pittsburgh-Allegheny County merger. And never mind that it repeatedly, as it is said, “had no legs,” a new merger proposal has popped up like a stubborn crop of dandelions. “In short, in decades past and continuing through...

A rough estimate of coronavirus-related unemployment levels can be made for the Pittsburgh metro area based on data through the end of March. And it’s quite the sobering picture that’s certain to grow worse, says a scholar at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The economic deterioration resulting from the...

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reports that total gambling revenues increased by 4.5% in 2019 over 2018. The gain did not reflect any increase in the number of people playing traditional slot machines but rather the expansion of gaming options, scholars at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy note. However,...

Problems continue to grow worse for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). And there remains little doubt that dramatic changes are needed at several of the universities in the 14-school system, says a scholar at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “It is time for the Legislature and...

Pennsylvania businesses remained bullish in late 2019, according to the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research. But a generally healthy state business climate comes with a host of other challenges mirrored in national findings, says a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. Thirty-eight percent of respondents to the...

Elected and appointed government officials have a troubling habit of engaging in what we’ll call “sound bite promotion.” They go on a radio or television program making wondrous claims of economic progress yet offer only vague support of those claims and seldom are challenged by their interviewers. Thus, for the...

Much of the angst and legal wrangling over property assessments in Allegheny County and statewide could be eliminated by instituting mandatory regular reassessments that incorporate standardized norms, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The state should just end, or curtail appeals, by bringing Pennsylvania’s assessment practices...

While Pittsburgh’s financial situation has made significant and positive strides, there remain substantial concerns about the city’s economic and financial structure, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Debt outstanding is down but retirement benefit problems remain,” says Jake Haulk, president-emeritus of the Pittsburgh think tank. “Revenue...

“Pursue your happiness,” read the “Welcome to Pennsylvania” interstate border signs. But “Pursue some transparency” would be a better slogan considering the commonwealth’s spotty record of holding accountable how some recipients of gambling taxes spend that money, finds an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. Keystone State gambling...

There has been lots of happy talk about Greater Pittsburgh’s supposed economic “resilience,” if not an outright “renaissance.” But the latest jobs report belies that notion and yet again exposes the many elephants in the room that continue to retard growth, concludes an analysis by scholars at the Allegheny Institute...