Pittsburgh to Charge for Providing Mutual Aid to Pa. City

Aug. 30--Pittsburgh plans to continue providing emergency medical services in Mt. Oliver and charge the borough $10,000 per year in addition to billing patient insurance companies.

City Council on Tuesday introduced legislation that would extend a contract with Mt. Oliver for three years. The borough would pay Pittsburgh $10,000 annually.

Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said Pittsburgh has provided ambulance and paramedic services to Mt. Oliver for decades. This would be the first time it is charging a fee on top of billing insurance companies.

The city receives $110,000 to $130,000 per year in third-party billing, according to Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

Pittsburgh has been handling trash collection in Wilkinsburg since 2007 and took on borough fire protection services in 2011. The borough pays about $2.7 million per year.

The city in April began providing fire protection to Ingram at a cost of about $459,170 over five years.

Mayor Bill Peduto has said he would like to share more services with neighboring municipalities in an effort to cut down on costs.

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312 or bbauder@tribweb.com.

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