Pittsburgh and county talking merger

PITTSBURGH - Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato says he and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl met with 20 state lawmakers over the weekend to discuss merging the city and county governments.

Onorato says the meeting Saturday was the first with state legislators since he and Ravenstahl announced their support for the proposed merger earlier this year.

Onorato says officials at the meeting agreed to move forward with the proposal.

In April, Onorato and Ravenstahl backed the idea after a study recommended consolidating the city and county governments.

They said a merger would save money by eliminating duplicate services.