(News)

City police will receive raises of three-and-a-half percent or better for the next five years under the terms of a new contract.

At this month's meeting, council by 7-0 vote ratified the deal with its unionized police officers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 205 in White Oak.

The contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, provides raises of 3.5 percent in each of the first three years, and 3.75 percent in the last two years, City Administrator Dennis Pittman said.

Those terms are identical to the agreement signed in December between the city and its unionized firefighters.

McKeesport police officers with at least three years' service make about $45,500 annually, according to the city's 2010 budget. New hires start at 80 percent of the base salary, or about $36,400.

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Mansfield Bridge Talks Continue: The city, Glassport and Allegheny County remain at odds over the cost of rebuilding the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge, one of 6,000 in Pennsylvania rated "structurally deficient" by state inspectors.

The 1,931-foot bridge over the Monongahela River connecting Dravosburg with Glassport and McKeesport is to be reconstructed at a cost of more than $30 million. Originally scheduled to begin last year, the work has now been moved to 2011, pending completion of work on the Rankin Bridge.

Although Allegheny County owns the Mansfield Bridge, a ruling from the state Public Utility Commission dating to its construction in the late 1940s calls on the city and Glassport to share the cost of reconstructing the ramps at the south end.

County and federal transportation officials have assessed the city's share at $141,576.

City officials argue that the ruling --- which concerned a series of railroad crossings that were eliminated during construction of the bridge and the widening of West Fifth Avenue --- is no longer enforceable.

The PUC has slated a meeting with local and county officials for March 24.

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They Said It: A couple of public relations snafus involving Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl provided laughs for officials of the Tube City.

Ravenstahl was shellacked in the media for being at the Seven Springs ski resort during the snowstorm of Feb. 5 and 6.

A week later, Ravenstahl lashed out at reporters who questioned him about rumors that he secretly traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, asking: "Do you want to know ... what kind of underwear I wear?"

At the council meeting on March 3, City Councilman Darryl Segina told Mayor Jim Brewster: "I'm glad to see you were in McKeesport during the snow storm, not at Seven Springs."

Replied Brewster: "Do you want to know what color underwear I had on?"