Recent debates about neighborhood services and development policy raise an important question: What happens when residents feel their local government has forgotten them?
For many people, that frustration is personal.
I recently spoke with the mayor of Mt. Oliver about the possibility of her borough absorbing the Knoxville neighborhood where I live and potentially sharing responsibility for nearby Carrick with Brentwood. The idea may sound unusual, but it grew from a situation many Pittsburgh homeowners understand.
A house next to mine sat vacant and overgrown for nearly a decade, with raccoons living in the attic for years. I tried to purchase the property so I could rehabilitate it, and attended a City Council meeting to raise concerns before it was eventually sold by the city treasurer for $10,303 to another buyer.
While I’m glad the property will return to the tax rolls, the experience reflects a larger frustration. Residents who want to invest in their neighborhoods often feel that city government makes the process unnecessarily difficult while basic services remain inconsistent.
Smaller municipalities sometimes maintain a closer connection to the people they serve. Mt. Oliver, for example, maintains a full-time police department, plows its streets and actively supports local businesses.
Public safety and reliable services are not luxuries. They are the reason residents pay taxes and expect accountable government to provide.
The city of Pittsburgh can’t sustain its people.
Secession is always an option.
Michael Diehl
Knoxville