On Monday, Councilman Bill Peduto and YinzCam Inc. launched iBurgh, an iPhone application for the City of Pittsburgh.  This iPhone application allows users to take a picture of any 311 complaint they might have, such as a pothole, and send it directly to Pittsburgh’s 311 line from their iPhone.  

The launch of this iPhone application is just one more example of Pittsburgh’s emergence as a leader in the world of e-democracy.  
 

• Fall 2008 – Washington DC Launches “Apps for Democracy” Contest to Create iPhone and Facebook Apps
• June 2009 – San Francisco Announces a 311 Twitter Account
• June 2009 – New York City Announces a 311 Twitter Account
• July 2009- Washington DC Announces 2^nd Round of “Apps for Democracy”
• July 2009- NYC Announces “Big Apps” Competition Modeled After DC Contest
• July 2009 – Boston Mayor Announces Plans to Create Boston 311 iPhone App
• August 17, 2009 – Pittsburgh Becomes First Major City in America to Launch 311 iPhone App 

The use of social media as a mode of government/constituent communication is emerging as a very valuable tool.  The number of users, and younger generations of voters in particular, and  that can be reached through these outlets continues to grow at astounding rates.  Facebook added 100,000,000 users in less than 9 months, and 96% of Generation Y are regular users of social media.  Compared to other communication outlets:

• It took radio 38 years to get 50,000,000 listeners
• It took television 13 years to hit 50,000,000 viewers
• It only took 4 years for 50,000,000 people to visit the internet

Social media facts:

• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest in the world
• There are over 200,000,000 blogs
• iPod applications hit he 1,000,000,000 mark in just 9 months
• Youtube has over 100,000,000 videos and Wikipedia has over 13,000,000 articles

iBurgh is just the first initiative in establishing e-democracy programs – 3 more are scheduled to be released this year.  iBurgh will continue to expand to all platforms and all phones, following the YinzCam business model.  These e-democracy programs will become even more interactive, and updates will include ways for citizens to receive notices from government about issues or places they care about, among other things.

To learn more about YinzCam Inc. and iBurgh, check out this slide presentation by the President of YinzCam Inc., Priya Narasimhan.

Today, Councilman Bill Peduto will announce the release of iBurgh, a new iPhone application that will work to improve government response to constituent services, such as snow removal and fixing potholes. Councilman Peduto and the local company YinzCam Inc. have worked together to make this launch possible today.

This application will allow constituents to use their iPhone to take a picture of a pothole, or other concern, and instantly submit a picture and location along with the complaint to the city’s 311 system.

Pittsburgh is the first major city in the county to utilize this type of government integrated iPhone application.

Today, Pittsburgh City Council gave final approval to Councilman Bill Peduto’s legislation to create the Stimulus Oversight and Reinvestment in New Growth (SOARING) Commission.  This commission will oversee the spending of money that Pittsburgh will receive from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this committee, you can apply online starting today!

Apply Online 

Today, Pittsburgh City Council voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to the creation of the Stimulus Oversight and Reinvestment in New Growth (SOARING) Commission.  This commission, introduced by Councilman Bill Peduto, would oversee the spending of the federal funds the Pittsburgh will receive through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For more information about this commission, visit www.reformpittsburghnow.com.

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette published another article focused on the process behind the passage of the new Act 47 financial recovery plan for the City.  Rich Lord’s story looks at the amendments added onto the plan by council members, and the negotiations that took place to ultimately allow the plan to achieve the 6 necessary votes.

“Last week, Pittsburgh officials passed a law that obliges the city to try to hire more minority and female police and firefighters, improve the energy efficiency of its fleet and buildings, revamp its pay structure, reuse a former police station, merge a half dozen functions with the county and much more.

Those were among the planks shoehorned by a suddenly muscular City Council into the new Act 47 recovery plan — ostensibly a 300-page blueprint to restore the city’s fiscal health by capping pay hikes and replenishing the pension fund, but now also a wide-ranging agenda, with deadlines, in ordinance form and with the state’s imprimatur.”

Read More: Pittsburgh City Council Flexes Muscle with Recovery Plan – By Rich Lord

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette voiced their support for the new financial plan for the City, passed by City Council last week in a 6-3 vote.  

The editorial praises Councilman Bill Peduto’s work to gain support for the plan, saying that it was he “who kept everyone talking, always focused on the goal of writing not the best theoretical plan but the best practical plan, one that could get at least five votes necessary for adoption.”  

The article also emphasizes that the state legislature must now take action, and provide the Mayor and Council with the tools to fully enact and carry out this new plan for Pittsburgh.

Thank you to the hundreds of People for Peduto who emailed, called and wrote to City Council and the Mayor lobbying to do what was best for Pittsburgh.  In the end, it did get the five votes needed and the city of Pittsburgh has a new AND BETTER Recovery Plan as a result.

Recovery on Track: City Council Comes Through on Act 47 Plan

In the middle of the night on Monday, The Act 47 Coordinators sent a letter to City Council Members and the Mayor in anticipation of a resolution to support an amended Act 47 Five Year Recovery Plan for Pittsburgh.  The Act 47 Coordinators agreed to add 30 out of Council’s 42 amendments to the plan and took the initiative to thank City Council Finance Chairman Bill Peduto.

Last Wednesday, City Council took an important step forward to create a responsible and forward-thinking five-year financial plan. The original plan that was introduced by the Administration contained several clauses that greatly concerned City Council and lacked new initiatives to create a more efficient 21st century government.

Through the leadership of Council Finance Chair Bill Peduto, Council Members Bruce Kraus and Theresa Kail-Smith, and Controller Michael Lamb, City Council offered several important amendments to the Plan.  The amendments fall under four general categories – City-County Consolidation of Services, Budget and Taxation Reform, Government
Efficiency, and Public Safety.  Some of the key features of the amendments are:

City-County Consolidation of Services

• Invsetigate consolidation services in Fleet Maintenance, IT, Payroll, Purchasing, and Tax Collection
• Create a Regional Parks Commission that oversees all RAD parks in the County

Budget and Taxation Reform

• Committing all slots parlor revenue windfalls to paying down debt
• Instituting new guidelines to ensure there is truth in budgeting
• Institute a .55% Payroll Tax on non-profits
• Go after waste, fraud, and abuse to collect taxes that are not being fairly paid

Government Efficiency

• Create a Facilities Master Plan for all City owned buildings
• Create a Recreational Master Plan for City pools, recreation centers, senior centers, and ball fields 
• Create a Fleet Master Plan
• Create a comprehensive Risk Management Plan
• Institute re-routing software to improve efficiency in street paving, snow plowing, and street cleaning

Public Safety

• Provide City employees with a five-year plan for increased salaries
• Investigate the feasability of keeping a North Side EMS station open 24 hours
• Keep open the Greenfield fire station
• Institute new initiatives to help with police retention and recruitment

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 

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.