Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration plans to refinance old debt, but the financial adviser it has chosen for the job has a rocky history with the director of one of the city's state-picked overseers.

The city is hiring Philadelphia-based Fairmount Capital Advisors to guide it through the process, said city Finance Director Scott Kunka.

"They're one of the foremost municipal finance experts in the commonwealth," he said. With no historic involvement in city debt, they're "a fresh set of eyes."

Interest rates create "a very, very favorable environment" for refinancing debt, said Mr. Kunka yesterday. He said that if the city acts before Sept. 1, when a large debt payment is due, it can glean several million dollars in savings.

"We're thinking we could raise about $3 million," he said. The administration is consulting with City Council about how that money might be spent, but he noted that rising asphalt prices threaten the city's plan to resurface 50 miles of streets this year, and that some could be spent on paving.

At issue is that, from 2000 to 2004, Fairmount employed Henry Sciortino, the executive director of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority -- or ICA -- one of the two entities tasked by the state with guiding the city away from its 2003 brush with bankruptcy.

Fairmount later sued Mr. Sciortino, alleging he took some of its business with him when he left the firm. One issue then was whether the ICA had intended to hire Fairmount, or Mr. Sciortino individually, as its director.

In October 2006, a Chester County jury awarded the firm a $717,000 verdict. Mr. Sciortino has appealed. Although the jury found that the ICA had intended to hire Fairmount, it did not transfer the work from Mr. Sciortino.

Also at issue in the litigation was whether Mr. Sciortino continued to have an ownership stake in Fairmount. If he is an owner, Fairmount might have to clear conflict-of-interest hurdles before working for the city.

Contacted by a reporter yesterday, Mr. Sciortino said it was the first he'd heard of the city's plan to hire Fairmount, so he could not comment. And he could not say whether the ICA would have to approve the refinancing plan.

Mr. Kunka said the city is sending requests for qualifications to 14 law firms and 13 underwriting firms to try to forge the right team to handle the debt refinancing. He stopped short of pledging a competitive process for choosing the team, which would be paid out of the proceeds.

"We'll see what we get back and then we'll go from there," he said.

He said the city is planning "a straightforward refinancing" without any exotic financial features.