Today, Councilman Bill Peduto, who serves as the finance chair for the Pittsburgh City Council,  published his comprehensive five year plan for Pittsburgh’s financial future.  

This plan has 7 main areas of emphasis, all of which are ultimately designed to solve our City’s financial problems.  The key points are:

•  Functional Consolidation of Municipal Services
• Statewide Administered Pension and Healthcare Reform
• Non-Profit Payroll Tax
• Regional Revenue Sharing and Local Tax Reform
• Baseline Audits/ Professional Management/ Outcome Based Performance
• Control of Long Term General Obligation Debt
• Initiatives to Create a Competitive Workforce

This plan was presented to Act 47 coordinators on April 28, 2009.

Read the Letter Here

Click Here to View the Attached Spreadsheet 

This summer, outdoor activity and public policy discussion will be combined into one new program from Venture Outdoors Pittsburgh.  Venture Outdoors and Councilman Bill Peduto are teaming up to create Pedal, Paddle, Peduto – and you can get in on the fun!

Join Councilman Peduto and local experts for the Three Rivers Kayaking Tour, the Downtown Bike Tour, the City Parks Walkabout – or all three – to enjoy Pittsburgh’s green spaces and learn about riverfront development,  architecture, urban design, and much more.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to both experience and learn about your city!  For more information, or to sign up, visit www.ventureoutdoors.org.

As the primary campaign comes to a close, we would like to thank everyone who helped us during the past three months.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered, not only for Councilman Bill Peduto’s campaign, but for the campaigns of our allies.  Thank you to everyone that administrated the campaign – Matt, Gloria, Julia, Kayla, Adam, and Scott.

This campaign was never just about May 19th, it has been about building a new, reform-minded, progressive movement in the City of  Pittsburgh.  Yesterday we took a giant step in that direction – now that is really moving the city forward!

Thank you again to everyone involved!

Don’t forget – Tuesday, May 19th is the Democratic primary election in the City of Pittsburgh!

Your local poll will be open from 7am to 8pm.
Not sure where to vote? Check your polling location here.

There are several important races on the ballot that will help decide the future of our City. Voting is the biggest way that you can let your voice be heard – don’t forget to go out and support your candidates!

Last night, several residents of City Council District 8 attended a reception with Councilman Bill Peduto at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
The group enjoyed food donated by local bakeries and restaurants, and live jazz by Matt Ferrante.
Thank you to everyone who came  out to support Councilman Bill Peduto’s reelection campaign, and to all of the fantastic volunteers!  Check out the flickr page for even more photos.

The Peduto for City Council campaign will be holding it’s last fundraiser before the primary election tomorrow night at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside.

May 14, 2009
7:00pm – 9:00pm
A suggested contribution of $100 per person is requested.

 
Come out and join us for an evening of live jazz by Matt Ferrrante, refreshments, and the Guided by the Ancestors quilt display by Tina Williams Brewer.  If you have been thinking about donating to the Peduto for City Council campaign, now is your chance!

A Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial published in today’s paper highlights the fact that new faces in local government will not be the only changes that come out of this year’s primary election season.

The editorial praises Councilman Bill Peduto for his willingness to take action and push for campaign finance reform during the opportune moment.  Voters are paying attention now more than any other time of the year to the actions of their elected officials, which means that Councilman Peduto’s push for campaign finance reform was not unnoticed by the residents of Pittsburgh.  With the Mayor facing challengers in the upcoming election, Councilman Peduto chose the right moment to push for reform, and his efforts were successful.

The reforms passed in Pittsburgh City Council last Tuesday could not have happened without those that spoke out in support of change.  Thank you to everyone who called, emailed and wrote to Council Members.  This bill would not have passed without the army of supporters that fought for it.  Councilman Peduto’s re-election campaign has worked to build the largest field army for reform in the City of Pittsburgh, and will continue to work to empower citizens through information and technology.  Everyone, especially those who worked to make it happen, should be celebrating this victory!

The blogosphere weighed in on the importance of this vote in local politics – Chris Schultz’s from “Thoughts on government… and other stuff” had this to say.

On Saturday, volunteers from the Peduto for Council campaign worked with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to help with the planting of a community garden in Shadyside.  The Peduto volunteers joined a several other individuals and groups to plant the garden on the corner of Centre Avenue and S. Aiken Avenue, in the lawn of First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh.  The group worked for about 2 and a half hours digging holes, planting a variety of flowers, and mulching.  

Thank you to all of the Peduto volunteers who took the time to help beautify our neighborhood!  If you would like to help with a WPC garden planting in your neighborhood, check out the planting schedule and sign up today!

On Tuesday, Councilman Bill Peduto’s series of 5 reform bills designed to end pay-to-play politics was passed by the Pittsburgh City Council – but the reform will not stop there.  At a press conference later that day, Councilman Peduto introduced a 10 point plan to reform the Pittsburgh City Government, in conjunction with the re-launching of the Reform Pittsburgh Now PAC.

The passage of the reform legislation on Tuesday was the largest action taken against pay-to-play politics by Pittsburgh City Council since the adoption of the Home Rule Charter, but Pittsburgh’s First Reformation of Local Government will continue with the 10 theses of reform introduced on Tuesday.  This theses on the Structure and Reformation of Government details areas of emphasis to continue to bring true reform to Pittsburgh, such as attacking waste, fraud, and abuse, and creating a firewall between politics and government.  Reform Pittsburgh Now also provides a report card, which tracks the votes of every City Council member, and the Mayor on progressive government reform issues.

Reform Pittsburgh Now was originally launched in 2007 by Councilman Bill Peduto, and the re-launched website works to empower the citizens of the City of Pittsburgh by giving them the tools to track the actions of their elected officials, and speak out for change.  The website provides an email forum that allows users to voice their opinion to all members of Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor with the click of a button, and will also be a source of information about progressive issues.

Visit Reform Pittsburgh Now today, and be a part of Pittsburgh’s First Reformation of City Government – it cannot happen without the involvement of citizens like you!

Read about Tuesday’s press conference, Reform Pittsburgh Now, and the passage of Councilman Peduto’s reform bills:

• Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Council Passes Government Reform Package
• Pittsburgh Tribune Review – Limits on Pittsburgh Campaign Donations Approved
• Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Pittsburgh Council Approves Reforms; Peduto Pushes for More

This morning at 10am, Pittsburgh City Council will make a historic vote that will forever change our system of campaign finance, and the way that contracts are awarded in the City of Pittsburgh.

These 5 bills are the largest reform initiative taken since the adoption of the Home Rule Charter in Pittsburgh.  These reform bills will:

1. Cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller Races, and $1,000 for City Council races
2. Mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and city contracts
3. Ban all no-bid contracts over $30,000
4. Create the Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which would require all lobbyists to register annually with the city
5. Create the Lobbyist Registration Act, which would require all contract bidders to disclose any payments to lobbyists and consultants
6. Strengthen the city’s ethics code to greatly limit gifts to government officials

Thank you to everyone that spoke out for reform and lobbied City Council – we could not have done this without you.