In a couple of weeks the city of Pittsburgh will be going live on Allegheny County’s financial management software, which is operated out of the county controller’s office. The new Controller, Chelsa Wagner, says that within a year, the county will be doing the city’s payroll, which is just one measure aimed at saving money.

“I think in future years, by really working on this system and working with local governments, we’ll hopefully be able to expand in ways that set a foundation for even great collaboration for the region,” said Wagner.

Wagner said that it will also help by improving efficiency on both the city and county level.

“When we have different efforts for coordination between the city and county, the city is on an entirely different financial platform than the county, so whether we’re talking about parks, or police, or different ways we can share services and find some cost savings, we really need to be able to speak the same language,” she said.

Wagner said that she will also work toward making sure that the county is more transparent.

“I’m someone who’s frustrated when I get on county websites and can’t really search through campaign finance forms or even look on the county elections website and find who represents you as a voter,” she said. “I think those are things we should be able to do very easily.”