The Pittsburgh Land Bank has hired an interim executive director — longtime local government manager Paul Leger.
Board members approved the hire at their meeting Friday.
He will earn $1,000 monthly and is hoping that a full-time executive director will be on board by July. The agency has been searching for an executive director for many months.
In addition to searching for someone to take his place, he said he's hoping to gain additional funding for the agency, which has had a slow start acquiring and transacting properties. The Land Bank aims to take blighted and tax-delinquent properties and return them to productive use. The city approved its creation in 2014, but it hasn’t previously had an executive director.
Of his goals for the Land Bank, he said, “I think this is the vehicle by which the city can get its disposition of property corrected. It's a mess right now. It’s very, very difficult for anybody to get property from the city.”
Mr. Leger, who also sits on the board of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, has had a slew of roles in local government and policy for four decades.
He was Mayor Bill Peduto’s first finance director. He served the same role in the short mayoral administration of Bob O’Connor, before he was ousted in a power struggle during that mayor’s terminal illness.
For the city, he also served in managerial roles in the parks department and the Office of Management and Budget. He was a deputy manager and property assessment director for Allegheny County, and a borough manager for Braddock and Rankin.
He has been a Land Bank board member; he resigned from the board on Friday.
Land Bank board president and city Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess cited Mr. Leger's deep knowledge of the city and real estate as qualifications for the role.
“It is a turning point for the organization,” said Mayor Bill Peduto. “The actions that have been taken to date through the URA have amounted to just a few sales, which is completely unacceptable. Paul’s job will be to not identify where problems exist, but to solve them. As of today, staff has only told us why things couldn’t be done, instead of actually creating the model to get it done. That is no longer acceptable.”
Mr. Peduto said the appointment is part of a full revamp of the city’s economic development leadership, including a new chief economic development officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority director, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh development director and, soon, planning director.
“Having Paul in this interim position will help to get this organization up and running until a full-time, permanent director can be found,” the mayor said.
Kate Giammarise: kgiammarise@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3909. Rich Lord: rlord@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1542 or on Twitter: @richelord.
First Published: January 10, 2020, 8:29 p.m.