Allegheny County Council is preparing to step further into the controversy over paying prevailing wages to janitorial, hotel and food service employees.

Council on Tuesday night introduced a third version of an ordinance that would require employers at future county-subsidized development sites to pay hotel, grocery, maintenance and cafeteria workers wages that match county averages. The bill also would require companies that provide cleaning and food services to the county to pay their workers the same prevailing wage.

All three measures will be discussed at a public hearing at 5 p.m. March 24 in the Gold Room on the fourth floor of the County Courthouse.

This latest measure, introduced by council President Rich Fitzgerald and Councilman William Robinson, D-Hill District, corresponds with a prevailing wage ordinance passed last month by Pittsburgh City Council. That bill, which passed unanimously, became law on Feb. 15 without Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's signature. It's scheduled to take effect next month.

Its approval followed weeks of sometimes rancorous debate and warnings from some businesspeople that it would place Pittsburgh at a competitive disadvantage for development.

Mr. Ravenstahl had vetoed similar legislation on Dec. 31, but the unanimous approval of the second version would have made an override likely. A spokeswoman for the mayor said he had legal concerns about the enforceability of the measure.

Mr. Robinson said that no courts have ruled yet on the legality of prevailing wage laws. "I agree that no one can definitively say at this point if these measures are legal or illegal," he said.

If solicitors and the courts find there are no legal barriers to such laws, he predicted the county measure would pass council.

The three proposed bills have the support of six members of the 15-member council. "I think we'll be able to find at least two more votes," he said.

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposals during the hearing should register with the County Council clerk via e-mail at rtc@county.allegheny.pa.us, through the website at www.county.allegheny.pa.us/council or by calling 412-350-6490. Each speaker will have up to three minutes. People also can submit written comments.

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