PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/category/money-and-politics/)
Burgess was first elected to City Council in 2007. His district includes East Hills, Garfield, Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, North Point Breeze, part of East Liberty and Friendship.
Pittsburgh voters on Tuesday supported a ballot amendment that will create a real estate tax to pay for park improvements.
Four Pittsburgh City Council members spoke out against a ballot initiative before voters on Election Day Tuesday that will pay for park improvements by adding a real estate tax.
Pittsburgh City Council members unanimously voted Monday to approve the mayor entering the city into a $10.9 million contract for new body cameras and Tasers for the entire police force.
The Pittsburgh City Council is poised to approve a $10.9 million contract to purchase 950 body cameras and 950 Tasers to equip the entire police force with upgraded equipment.
The city originally entered into a $1.5 million contract with Axon in 2017 for 550 body cameras. In January, council voted to increase that contract amount to $2.3 million to outfit more officers with cameras. If council approves the new $10.9 million proposed contract at its 10 a.m. Monday meeting, those cameras and the current contract will be replaced with little public scrutiny from council members. The proposed contract to last through 2024 is a notable extension of business with a company whose previous engagement with the city has been scrutinized. The city approved the original contract without seeking competitive bids and involved a Pittsburgh police official with ties to Axon.
Though the city’s first batch of police body cameras are two years old or newer, the technology is evolving rapidly.
Some protested Trump's visit in downtown Pittsburgh leading up to his afternoon speech. Mayor Bill Peduto called Trump's vision of the economy a 19th-century attack on the environment.
In the new year, Pittsburgh residents will have access to more information about the contracts the City of Pittsburgh pays for with their tax dollars — before those contracts are signed.
The interim Board of Elections voted unanimously Wednesday for Allegheny County to negotiate the purchase of new voting equipment and software with Election Systems & Software in spite of concerns raised by experts and advocates over the company's ethics and conduct.
Voting experts, advocates answered six questions about voting security, vendor concerns and what the county Board of Elections should consider when purchasing voting equipment.
Without additional testing, the county interim Board of Elections appears to have only one option for new voting equipment — from a company said to have given gifts to officials in other counties.
