PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato was in Washington, D.C., today to meet with President Obama and county officials from across the nation to discuss issues of importance to county governments. Vice President Biden, several Cabinet secretaries, their deputies and other key federal officials also participated. The White House meeting was arranged by the National Association of Counties, the national organization that represents the 3,068 county governments in the United States.

“Federal policy, regulatory and budgetary decisions can have tremendous impacts on county governments,” said Onorato. “Today’s meeting with President Obama and his team was a great opportunity to share our thoughts and positions on a number of critical issues.”

Topics of discussion included infrastructure and sustainable communities, jail and poverty issues, and health care reform implementation and Medicaid. The White House asked the county leaders to identify key challenges they face on each issue, as well as innovative solutions they are using to overcome these challenges.

Onorato stressed the need for federal support to help update and repair infrastructure in established communities and to clean and reclaim former industrial sites. Allegheny County has relied on federal funding, especially flexible Community Development Block Grant dollars, to redevelop brownfields, revitalize business districts, repair sewer and water lines, and rehabilitate bridges and roadways. Unfortunately, CDBG funding for the current fiscal year was cut by 16.5 percent, which translates into a loss of $2.9 million for Allegheny County.

“We’ve been working on redevelopment and revitalization efforts in a number of our inner-ring suburbs and former industrial towns with the goal of attracting private investment, good jobs and new residents to these neighborhoods,” added Onorato. “When we reinvest in established and developed areas, we protect green space and prevent sprawl.”

Onorato asked Obama Administration officials to consider a plan that would shift air traffic from the congested Philadelphia, Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia airports to Pittsburgh International Airport. The three widely-spaced parallel runways at Pittsburgh International Airport can handle 160 aircraft per hour in optimal conditions. This presents an opportunity to reduce delays at Philadelphia, Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia with minimal investment by using existing infrastructure and capacity in Pittsburgh.

The County Executive discussed the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative, a cooperative effort among the County Jail, Department of Human Services, Health Department, and Court of Common Pleas. It was formed in 1999 with the purpose of improving public safety, reducing recidivism, and increasing success for inmates following incarceration. The collaborative offers programs that give inmates the opportunity to earn a GED and participate in computer literacy and pre-apprenticeship training classes. Inmates may also attend employment workshops to assist them in finding jobs upon their release. The Collaborative also has initiatives to help children deal with issues related to having an incarcerated parent.

During discussions on health care reform and Medicaid, Onorato spoke about the federal policy that suspends Medicaid benefits for individuals in county jails at the end of their first month of incarceration. Once federal Medicaid benefits cease, all inmate health care costs become the responsibility of the county. In 2010, this federal policy cost Allegheny County $11.3 million. County officials asked the Obama Administration to relieve the financial burden on counties by changing the policy and maintaining Medicaid benefits for indigent inmates.

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