A few minutes ago, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority that oversees the City of Pittsburgh’s budget unanimously rejected the spending plan of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, setting up a three-way showdown between the mayor, city council and the ICA.  At the heart of the battle is Ravenstahl’s proposed 1% tuition tax at city-based colleges and universities, a levy that will generate enough revenue to close a projected $15 million hole. 

In an interesting turn, Ravenstahl berated the board for taking the action, asking somewhat less than rhetorically how impartial the fiscal oversight team is, considering four of the six members currently have or have had ties to city universities.

The coming fight will be the first real test for Ravenstahl coming off his recent re-election to his first four-year term.  The alternatives to the tuition tax are not exactly tasty ones, with service cutbacks and property tax increases at the top of the menu.

Organized labor has sided with the mayor.  The city’s non-profits are behind the ICA.  And city council is poised to make the next move.

What we do know at this point is that despite the increasingly nasty tone out there at The Confluence, Pittsburgh’s $15 million war will likely be a lot shorter – and much less painful – than the billion dollar battle that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter waged earlier this year.  The other good news for Mayor Luke?  He doesn’t need to come to the Pennsylvania General Assembly to solve the problem.  Yet.