Pittsburgh has 1 plumber and its city-run drinking fountains are out

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday rushed to pass legislation that will allow the city to contract with more plumbers who can help turn on drinking fountains, maintain public bathrooms and handle other plumbing work that currently falls to the city’s sole plumber.

The city this year budgeted money for three plumbers, but currently employs only one.

City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to allow the city to contract with outside plumbers — either from other government entities or private companies — to help make up for the shortage.

The legislation, sponsored by Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, acknowledged the need for plumbers, particularly in the summertime, when pools and spray parks open and people rely on water fountains and public bathrooms at city parks and other sites.

“This is something that’s important to all of our residents, especially people that use our public facilities, whether it’s a restroom or a water fountain,” Wilson said. “We want to make sure there’s water turned on.”

The city has about 200 water fountains, but has turned on only 35 so far this summer, said Olga George, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Gainey.

The legislation is open-ended and does not specify how much the city will pay for these contracted plumbers, how many they plan to hire or how long their contracts may last. The money will come from the city’s parks tax trust fund and the Department of Public Works budget.

The measure would allow the city to hire plumbers from entities like the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority to work overtime hours for the city, Wilson said.

The goal is to get plumbers working on fountains and other needs as quickly as possible, he said.

Online job postings from the city show city plumbers make just over $30 per hour, though the measure approved Tuesday gives the mayor the authority to increase plumbers’ salaries to help bolster recruitment efforts.

There will be no formal competitive bid process for the plumbers the city is looking to contract.

The measure was introduced Wednesday. Council members waived their rules to take a final vote later the same day, rather than going through their standard process, which typically takes about three weeks.