The Wilkinsburg Borough Council announced Thursday that it voted to sever its relationship with a nonprofit supporting a merger between the borough and the city of Pittsburgh.
In a statement, the council said the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation “failed in its partnership” with the borough, which was originally struck to revitalize the neighborhood’s business corridor.
Instead, the council said the WCDC channeled its grant and foundation money to petition for a vote that would allow Pittsburgh to annex Wilkinsburg.
On Dec. 10, the WCDC submitted a petition to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas that would put a vote for annexation on the ballot in 2022.
Advocates for the annexation say the merger would provide more school options for students in both municipalities, reduce taxes for property owners and improve the quality of public services in Wilkinsburg.
Critics, however, argue that Pittsburgh’s public services couldn’t accommodate a boost in residents.
According to state annexation laws, the WCDC needed to collect signatures from 5% of Wilkinsburg’s 13,000 registered voters in order to submit their petition.
A court filing said it collected 1,254 over two months this fall.
Wilkinsburg council members told Pittsburgh council members in public hearings that they do not favor annexation. Pittsburgh council would have to approve it before the issue could go to the ballot.
In the Wilkinsburg council’s statement, it said the money funneled by the WCDC into its campaign for annexation was “otherwise intended to charitably benefit the community of Wilkinsburg.”
Council added that when asked to present its case to the public at a meeting, the WCDC refused.
In a separate statement, Wilkinsburg Council said that in 2020, Tracy Evans, executive director of the WCDC, reported that the nonprofit generated $70 million in investment for the borough but did not substantiate this.
First Published: December 24, 2021, 12:20 a.m.
