Pittsburgh Parking Authority lays off 36 enforcement officers, cites revenue decline

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority has laid off 36 enforcement officers because of declining meter and garage revenues during the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Thursday.

David Onorato, the authority’s executive director, said revenue from parking meters and authority-owned garages was down by more than 90% in April. He said the authority typically averages $2.7 million per month in garage receipts and $1.7 million from meters.

“In April we brought in about $160,000 between the both of them,” he said. “We lost garage revenues and we lost all our meter revenues.”

The authority in March suspended meter enforcement to curtail interaction between employees and the public. Onorato said the authority continued to pay the officers for two months.

“We cut out expenses as much as we could for the first month or two,” he said. “We kept them on for eight weeks, but without revenues coming in we had to take that step.”

He said the employees would be called back once coronavirus restrictions are lifted and meter enforcement resumes.

“If this continues we’ll have to look to take further actions and probably more layoffs,” he said.

The authority, which employs 150 people, is the first city-related agency to lay off employees because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

Office staff and other personnel are working remotely, Onorato said. About 65 garage employees remain on the job because the garages are open around the clock even though few people are using them.

On-street and lot parking is essentially free citywide.

“Basically the garages are vacant,” Onorato said. “Everybody is parking in the street. The streets are packed. You can’t find a place to park.”