Pittsburgh Government Guidebook
 

The city of Pittsburgh has a new mayor. The election of Ed Gainey and the onboarding of his administration has presented a significant opportunity for a best-practice transition process that provides the mayor and his staff with essential information on departments, boards and authorities. It also provides for public transparency in government operations and community participation in the democratic process.

To act on the opportunity, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments have funded consultants to document the state of about two dozen government entities, analyze finances, research best practices in department functions and assist transition committees in public forums that will shape the mayor’s agenda.

The other essential requirement for a successful transition is cooperation. After last summer’s primary elections, the Republican and Democratic parties’ nominees for mayor endorsed the transition plan and agreed to participate if elected.

Former Mayor Bill Peduto and leaders of his administration cooperated extensively during the four months of research conducted by the New Orleans-based Thomas Consulting Group. Able to rely on strong collaboration from all parties, the team produced a series of reports covering the range of city government functions.

We have developed this website in keeping with the project’s goal of transparency in the transition work and a commitment to share information broadly. We hope the reports will serve as a reference guide for residents to be as effective as possible in their interactions with city government. We also expect that it will assist the new administration in reducing orientation time and govern with confidence.

Lisa Schroeder
President and CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation