1. Second Annual CONGRESS of Neighboring Communities June 18, 2010

2. Resolution 10-01 Election of officers

3. Resolution 10-02 Establish one Congress per Calendar Year
Establish one Congress per Calendar Year

4. Resolution 10-03
Establish five officers and a nominating committee to propose a slate of nominees for officer election

5. Resolution 10-04
Establishes three standing committees: an Executive Committee which shall provide overall director for the operations of CONNECT, a Policy Committee which shall deal with issues relating to the 36 municipalities as a core community, and an Operations Committee which shall focus on intergovernmental cooperation among member communities

6. A representative from Pittsburgh City Council;
Resolution 10-05
Establishes that the Executive Committee will be comprised of one representative from each CONNECT municipality and representative of Allegheny County government (appointed by the County Executive) plus the following non-voting members:
A representative of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development;
A representative from Pittsburgh City Council;
A representative from the City Controller’s office;
A representative of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Establishes that each CONNECT member shall also hold one seat on either the Policy Committee or the Operations Committee for a term of two years, after which a community will serve on the opposite committee. Allows for the city of Pittsburgh to have a seat on both the policy and operations committee and for the Policy and Operations committees to include a representative from each of the councils of governments (COGs) whose members are CONNECT members

7. Resolution 10-06
Establishes that CONNECT expeditors will serve as the first point of contact for the CONNECT member municipalities

8. Resolution 10-07
Calls on expeditors to make a full faith effort to communicate their concerns to the expeditors of all relevant community members

9. Resolution 10-08
Asks CONNECT members to give priority to processing agreements between CONNECT municipalities to the maximum extent possible

10. Resolution 10-09
Encourages each COG to appoint a member of their body to attend the Policy and Operations Committee meetings and participate, in an advisory capacity, in the annual Congress

11. Critical Condition: The EMS Crisis in Pittsburgh and its Neighboring Communities
A Report by the Office of the Pittsburgh City Controller
Submitted to the Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT)
June 18, 2010
Michael E. Lamb
City Controller, Pittsburgh

12. EMS Challenges Undependable Funding Sources
Private insurers send co-pays to the user rather than the provider
Medicare reimbursements often cover only half of the cost billed
Subscription rates within CONNECT communities range from 15% to 62%

13. EMS Challenges (Cont.) Increased demand and cost of staffing
Volunteerism has plummeted
Professional Staff is expensive
Education and training required is extensive

14. Allegheny County 911
Funding for 911 is a from a monthly fee levied on all landline phone bills.
As an increasing number of county residents dropped their landlines to use only cell phones, the county 911 center began to operate at a deficit.
In both 2008 and 2009 the county 911 center operated at deficits approaching $2 million.

15. The Coming Crisis
Of the seventeen EMS organizations serving the CONNECT region, nine of the organizations showed a deficit in 2008.
The sixteen non-profit and municipal CONNECT EMS organizations ran a $2,657,753 deficit in 2008.
Thirteen of the organizations still used volunteers, but they have largely been replaced by a mix of full and part time EMT personnel.
EMS is facing a future of rapidly rising personnel costs and diminishing compensation for their service. The situation could literally become a matter of life or death.

16. The Plan A new partnership with our non-profit organizations
Creation of a grant pool for EMS providers that meet certain minimum standards
Using the Allegheny County Library Assn. as a model
Grants awarded based on population served and emergency call volume

17. The Plan (cont.) A new commitment from our municipalities
Municipalities will match the non-profit commitment through local support of EMS
Subscriptions, direct and indirect assistance, etc.

18. The Plan (cont.) New standards for our EMS providers
based on criteria such as service area, staff certifications and training, response time, staffing levels, etc., as determined by the EMS community.

19. The Plan (cont.) The funding pool is suggested to be split three ways.
80% would be divided among the qualifying EMS providers for operations.
10% to help support any projects that improve training, or efforts of coordination, cooperation, and/or sharing of services among EMS providers.
10% dedicated to the County to offset its funding shortage for county-wide 911 services.

20. Identifies adequate revenues for the EMS providers
Resolution 10-10
CONNECT:
Accepts the report of the City Controller identifying the urgency of finding additional revenues for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers
Charges the Executive Committee with initiating discussions with the EMS Council of Allegheny County
Charges the Executive Committee with initiating discussions with the nonprofit community
Identifies adequate revenues for the EMS providers

21. Resolution 10-11
Encourages CONNECT members to participate fully in all appropriate transit corridor planning efforts; encourages municipal and county governments not in CONNECT but part of the transportation corridor to join CONNECT members in corridor planning; and calls on the SPC, state of Pennsylvania and other appropriate funders to place a high priority on funding transit corridor planning efforts within CONNECT municipalities

22. Resolution 10-12
Authorizes the 36 municipalities of CONNECT to call upon the state legislature to provide a long-term plan for sufficient funding to ensure that public transit remains a viable public service to our citizens and a critical component of our area's transportation infrastructure

23. Resolution 10-13
Commits to establishing a dialogue with its member municipalities and working with Three Rivers Wet Weather to develop a regional approach to address wet weather issues

24. Resolution 10-14
Commits to work inter-municipally and with ALCOSAN to implement green initiatives which will result in money saved and less infrastructure to manage, and will help rehabilitate the sewage collection system

25. Resolution 10-15
Authorizes the creation of a framework for retrofitting and upgrading street lighting in the member municipalities

26. Resolution 10-16
Supplements the County energy audit program by retaining the services of an energy auditor to perform a CONNECT-wide audit of phone, electricity and gas usage for cost-saving purposes beginning in August 2010 for CONNECT members who chose to participate

27. Resolution 10-17
Provides joint bidding opportunities to its member municipalities in the area of energy savings

28. CONNECT CONGRESS
2010
All Congress attendees will be ed the full PowerPoint presentation