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Ordinance supplementing the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances, Title Two: Fiscal, Article V: Special Funds, to add a new Chapter 239: Fleet Vehicle Fund, to create a Fleet Vehicle Fund to fully fund the City of Pittsburgh’s fleet needs, and establish the purposes for which monies in the Fund may be used.
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WHEREAS, in recent years, the Fleet Services Senior Manager, the Equipment Leasing Authority, the Directors of Public Works and Public Safety, the Office of Management and Budget, and the City Controller have consistently warned that the deteriorating condition of the City of Pittsburgh’s vehicle fleet is having a negative impact both on the City’s ability to provide core services to residents and on the City’s finances, and;
WHEREAS, underfunding has resulted in vehicles being kept well beyond their recommended life cycles, with average vehicle ages exceeding healthy benchmarks and service breakdowns becoming more common, and;
WHEREAS, repairing aging vehicles is costly, with overall repair costs often exceeding the cost of vehicle replacement, and;
WHEREAS, in June 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) presented its 2026 Fleet Capital Proposal to the Equipment Leasing Authority (ELA), which stressed that, if significant additional investment is not made to the fleet, service disruptions could become frequent by 2030, and;
WHEREAS, OMB determined that to reverse the fleet’s current trajectory and bring at least 100% of vehicles within their recommended life cycles would require massive additional investment from the City of at least $206.7 million over a five-year period, and;
WHEREAS, in November 2025, the City Controller’s Office released its special report, Condition of the Citywide Vehicle Fleet, which echoed the report from OMB and also highlighted details of fleet inventory, age, mileage, as well as city-wide maintenance and repair costs over the past ten years and recent costs for emergency vehicle leasing;
The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title Two: Fiscal, Article V: Special Funds, is hereby amended by adding a new Chapter 239 Fleet Vehicle Fund as follows:
239.01 Definitions.
(a) “Fleet Vehicle Fund” means a fund dedicated solely for the purchase of fleet vehicles used in City of Pittsburgh operations.
(b) “Governing Board” means the Equipment Leasing Authority (ELA), which was incorporated in 1980 to serve as a financing mechanism enabling the City of Pittsburgh to make major equipment purchases, primarily vehicles.
(c) “Operational Efficiency” means a measure of fleet performance based on age and percentage of vehicles out of service for a given departmental function; projected maintenance costs for the coming year; lead-time required for order and delivery; and current and five-year impact on emergency and public safety operations, including but not limited to the removal of seasonal snow and ice.
(d) “Life Cycle” means the estimation of a vehicle’s expected time in use before a severe decline in operational efficiency resulting in an overreliance on repairs.
239.02 Establishment of the Fleet Vehicle Fund.
(a) The Pittsburgh Fleet Vehicle Fund (“Fund”) shall be created by the Office of the Controller, and managed by the Office of Management and Budget as a separate fund for the purpose of purchasing fleet vehicles for the City of Pittsburgh as more particularly specified in Sections 239.03 and 239.05 of this Chapter. The City may appropriate revenue and the Fund may receive monies from sources as deemed appropriate and consistent with the purposes set forth in this Chapter and applicable law.
(b) It is the intent of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh that the Fund have a goal of $20 million or more per year in annual revenue after a corresponding amount of budgeted legal revenue has been identified, a new legal revenue line in said amount has been established, or a combination of both.
(c) The dedication of any revenue must be consistent with Act 11 (Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority) agreements, as applicable, and the City’s annual five-year plan. Unless Council approves a dedicated source of annual funding, the actual amount of funds shall be contingent upon annual appropriation of Council.
(d) Monies allocated for the Fund must be used exclusively for purposes consistent with this Chapter and applicable law. Therefore, any assets remaining in the Fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried into the next fiscal year, including all interest and income earned, as well as any repayments or forfeitures of loans and/or grants.
(e) It is the intent of this Chapter that the Fund provide net new resources for fleet vehicles in the City of Pittsburgh, and that the Fund not be used to substitute or supplant existing resources.
(f) It is the intent of this Chapter that the Fund provide resources for ensuring that no more than 30% of fleet vehicles are in use beyond their life cycles, and this purpose shall be higher in priority to all other purposes of the Fund.
239.03 Prioritization of Fund Assets.
(a) Funds appropriated from the Fleet Vehicle Fund shall be consistent with an annual allocation plan (AAP), created by the Fleet Services Senior Manager in collaboration with the Equipment Leasing Authority. The AAP shall outline the types of fleet vehicles that are eligible for Fleet Vehicle Fund investment. Each year the AAP shall be submitted to City Council for review and approval, and the public shall be afforded the opportunity to comment on the AAP, prior to the passage of the budget. The AAP shall:
1. Ensure that vehicle purchasing is prioritized to support maximum capacity and operational efficiency.
2. Ensure that vehicle purchase planning includes a five-year outlook that is aligned with the annual five-year budget forecast.
3. Include the five-year purchasing plan as part of the Annual Fleet Investment and Efficiency Report.
239.04 Governing Board.
(a) Upon adoption of a resolution accepting the responsibilities of the governing board as set forth in this chapter, The Equipment Leasing Authority Board shall serve as the Fleet Vehicle Fund Governing Board (the “Governing Board”). The Governing Board shall:
1. Ensure that all decisions to purchase fleet vehicles comply with the requirements of this Chapter and all applicable laws and ethical requirements.
2. Make final decisions regarding the disbursement of fund assets.
3. Enter into agreements to disburse fund assets for fleet vehicle purchases consistent with applicable laws.
4. Ensure the alignment of Fund disbursements with the City’s other fleet vehicle resources, including Federal, State, and private grants as well as gifts to the City.
5. Seek contributions from non-City sources to supplement the assets of the Fund.
(b) The Governing Board shall meet in regular session at least quarterly. Meetings of the Governing Board, which may be combined with meetings of the Equipment Leasing Authority Board, shall be public and shall be advertised in a manner designed to ensure that the decisions of the Governing Board are open and transparent. The Governing Board shall also provide a mechanism through which interested persons may request and receive timely notification of regular and special meetings, which shall include at a minimum a description of the material terms of financing decisions that will be under consideration. The Governing Board shall allow for public comment on matters up for deliberation at each public meeting, and shall make publicly available a summary of actions taken at each meeting within ten (10) business days. This summary will be unofficial until approved and adopted by the Governing Board.
239.05 Administration and Management of Funds.
(a) The City shall enter into an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement with the Equipment Leasing Authority to provide implementation support and administer Fund assets, in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor. The agreement shall be transmitted to the City Clerk for distribution to City Council. The Agreement shall provide substantially as follows:
1. The Fleet Services team within the Office of Management and Budget will perform administrative functions related to the operations of the Fund.
2. Specific duties of the Fleet Services team will include:
a. Administration and Fund management;
b. Approval of draw requests and disbursement of funds;
c. Reporting;
d. Compliance monitoring and enforcement;
e. Staff support for the Governing Board to assist with preparation of the draft and final AAP; and
f. Additional duties as may be determined by the Governing Board.
3. Fleet Vehicle Fund assets shall be accounted for separately from other funds held by the City.
4. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for state and local governments, as defined by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), shall be used in the management of all Fund accounts.
239.06 Annual Audit and Report.
(a) Within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, the Governing Board shall commission an Annual Audit (the “Audit”) of Fund income and expenditures for the previous fiscal year. The Audit shall be completed no later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year. Copies of the Audit shall be provided to City Council, the Mayor, and the Governing Board, and shall be made publicly available with the Annual Report. The Audit shall include an account of all administrative expenses sufficient to demonstrate that the expenses are reasonable and necessary to the administration of the Fund.
The Annual Report shall include:
1. Total number of fleet vehicles purchased by department and operational function.
2. Vehicle make and model, seller, and cost per vehicle.
3. Order and delivery or projected delivery date for all vehicles purchased.
239.07 Effective Date.
This Chapter shall become effective upon enactment, and the first annual allocation made as part of the 2027 City of Pittsburgh Operating Budget.