PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald vetoed a bill that would have increased wages for county workers over the next three years.
Last week, council voted 10-to-4 on a bill that would have incrementally raised minimum wages for Allegheny County employees to $20 an hour by 2026.
Fitzgerald said the legislation violates the Home Rule Charter and attempts to usurp the authority of the executive branch.
"If council believes that the Home Rule Charter's language giving legal authority to the chief executive and the county manager to set wage rates through the hiring process and collective bargaining should be changed, it cannot do so legislatively," Fitzgerald said in a news release.
"Council instead must follow applicable law and propose a charter amendment to the voters of Allegheny County for consideration. This effort attempts to undermine the structure of the government that voters put in place, altering the structure, nature, and operations of the current form of home rule government."
While Fitzgerald said he has constantly advocated for increasing minimum wage, he differs on the pay rate of $18 an hour for seasonal jobs like lifeguards because they're not full-time positions.
Allegheny County Council President Patrick Catena issued a statement saying he looks forward to discussing and voting on a motion to override Fitzgerald's veto.
Catena called it "regrettable" that Fitzgerald, who is term-limited and in his final term, "opted to hide behind...
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