Resident urges council to raise permit fees to fully staff Allegheny County Health Department
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Summary
A public commenter asked council member Robert Palmasina to discuss increasing permit fees so the Allegheny County Health Department can hire staff; the comment referenced environmental justice concerns and a past resolution.
Laura Gallagher, a member of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, urged council to consider raising permit fees to enable the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to reach full staffing.
Gallagher asked to meet with Council member Robert Palmasina, her District 12 representative, to discuss his views and the broader permitting and funding process. “We support industries because they produce the goods on which we've come to rely... Currently, there are neighborhoods where trust is eroded because neither industry nor municipalities are upholding the rights of these communities to safety and health,” Gallagher said.
She referenced ongoing county discussions about ACHD permitting fees and cited resolution 13229‑24 in asking council members to weigh staffing needs and public‑health concerns. Gallagher said she and others in the environmental justice cohort want to better understand Palmasina’s disposition on the permitting vote and invited private conversation and follow up.
The remarks were made during public comment; no formal council action or response committing to a fee increase was recorded during the meeting.