PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wants to renew a contract with the private company hired three years ago to maintain the city’s 1,000-vehicle fleet, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The administration has introduced legislation to city council to extend a soon-to-expire, three-year contract with Cincinnati-based First Vehicle Services for 27 months, at a cost of up to $14.5 million.

The new deal would expire on May 31, 2010, just as Allegheny County’s pact with First Vehicle ends, potentially allowing the city and county to consolidate contracts. The city’s vehicles are maintained at a Strip District garage, and the county’s smaller fleet is fixed at a South Side location.

The $14.5 million figure represents a 3.5 percent annual increase in payments. Negotiations with the firm are continuing. City representatives said the “costs are reasonable,” and service is better than when the city ran the garage.