The city of Pittsburgh finalized a five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Joint Collective Bargaining Committee. It grants raises and other benefits for hundreds of workers in the Public Works Department.

A week after organizers rallied for lower fares and better access, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released an audit levying a number of criticisms at the Allegheny County Port Authority Thursday.

While DePasquale praised the authority for addressing the fiscal and contractual concerns raised in previous years, the report released said the authority’s buses have a long way to go service wise.

Allegheny County Council approved County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s roughly $1 billion dollar operating plan by a 13-0 vote Tuesday night.

The plan includes a $932 million operating budget, $111 million for the capital budget, and an additional $1 billion grants budget. This is an almost 3 percent increase from the 2018 budget of $905.7 million. In his initial proposal, Fitzgerald insisted every dollar requested would go toward preparing the county for disaster and investing in the future.

Hunger and housing advocates from around the city gathered in Pittsburgh City Council chambers to plead with council members to restore or increase funding to their respective organizations.