Pittsburgh Open Government Amendment

Synopsis

ew Article 6 -- The Amendment deletes the present Article 6: Community Advisory Boards which is now irrelevant because City Council abolished all of the City's Community Advisory Boards, effective December 31, 2000.   In its place, the Amendment will substitute a new Article 6: Open Government which expands upon the recent Open Data legislation passed by City Council, providing greater opportunities for public participation in the governance of the city, including an ability for individuals to be notfied about legislative and administrative actions before they occur and assuring that Council and the Mayor give more attention to resident's input.

Better notification -- Individuals will be able to sign up to be notified any time that anything the city is doing would have an impact upon something of interest to them.   By identifying those matters which are of concern, when legislation is marked up before introduction or an administrative action is catagorized, the City computers would notify all those who indicated they want to be notified.

More Public Participation -- Possibly the most impressive part of the amendment is its creation of a new public participation body.   Called a Citizen Advisory Panel, virtually any city resident, property owner, business operator, or taxpayer can participate at any time, provided they don't have a conflict of interest.   This body will have the ability to obtain information and ask questions of City departments; it can communicate directly with Council or the administration; and it can develop presentations on matters relevant to the City which both Council and the Mayor will be required to attend and listen to.

Comprehensive approach --There are a number of more mundane matters such as standards and requirements for information handling, public meetings and hearings, disclosure, etc.   All in all, the amendment is a complete package of provisions designed to ensure better communication between the people of Pittsburgh and their government.

The complete text is available as a PDF file to download or view online.