Fix PA
Fix PA

Insights[]

  • Has two task forces. One on Kane Hospitals and PAT. First job is to look at all the old studies.
  • Will not issue new studies. We have too many studies.

On Tunnel Under Allegheny River[]

  • We need to get on the other side of the river. Wants the tunnel to then span out up Rt. 28, out to airport, up to north hills.

Background[]

Assessements[]

Dan Onorato, with County Council's backing, imposed the base-year method of assessing properties in October 2005, after the latest countywide reassessment showed most properties facing higher assessments. Although the county's chief assessment officer said the updated numbers met industry standards, Mr. Onorato treated them like political dynamite and refused to let them take effect. First he proposed capping the increases, but was denied by the court.

Media[]

  • Onorato's pitches for Smith, Dermody credited] - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November, 2006 -- Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato's televised appeal to voters on behalf of two Democratic legislative candidates paid off at the polls. Ads featuring Onorato helped one fellow Democrat win a tight race and boosted the winning margin of the other, they said. Onorato appeared in TV ads in support of state Rep. Frank Dermody, of Oakmont, and Matt Smith, of Mt. Lebanon, who won hotly contested races for the state House.

Editorial[]

Although the Post-Gazette disagrees with Mr. Onorato's choice of the base-year method, it shares his opposition to out-of-control public budgets, reassessments that become back-door tax increases and local governments that cherry-pick properties for higher assessment to generate more revenue. The best way to fight those maladies is through changes in state law and the bully pulpit of the county executive.

...

Mr. Onorato has the standing and ability, as a fiscal conservative, to lead the system (of protery assessements) in that direction, but he's too enamored by the quick fix and the politically palatable to care about real reform.

Editorials[]

Tribune Review, October 6, 2006[]

Lance: To Dan Onorato. In a well-meaning, though misguided, attempt to be everything to everybody, the Allegheny County executive has asked County Council to consider nearly half-a-dozen amendments to the public smoking ban he signed into law on Wednesday. But this is a recipe for a legal nightmare that could end up costing taxpayers a bundle. It's called equal treatment under the law. And mark our words, somebody's going to sue -- and win.

Videos[]

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Links[]

  • Rick Swartz, opponent in the May 2007 primary election
  • James Roddey, opponent in the November 2003 general election
  • Michelle Coker, executive assistant to Onorato in 2007

Blogs[]

Videos[]

Targets[]

Links Within[]