Mayor Bill Peduto is having a “night out” to meet with Pittsburgh residents and address their concerns about the city with help from his staff.
“Mayor’s Night Out” aims at increasing transparency in city government and encourages civil engagement.
“This is just the next step — meeting with residents one-on-one to hear their concerns, and he’s going to be doing this throughout the year, and throughout his term, and he’s also going to be meeting with them here in the city county building as well,” said the mayor’s spokesperson Tim McNulty.
The mayor and his staff will be at the Warrington Community Recreation Center in Beltzhoover Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. All residents are encouraged to come and meet with Peduto regarding any possible concerns including public safety, potholes or public works.
McNulty says the mayor also plans to host a “Mayor’s Night In” by the end of April in which residents can meet with him in his office inside City Hall in the same manner as Monday’s event.
McNulty says that Peduto will try and meet with as many residents as possible and direct them to the appropriate staff members.
“Plans are for the mayor to be sitting at a table with a pad of paper and he’ll sit down and talk to a resident about his or her issue, he’ll jot down what it is, give it back to them and say, ‘Why don’t you go talk to Guy Costa about this public works issue,’ or ‘Why don’t you talk to this police officer here about this public safety issue,’” said McNulty.
According to McNulty, this initiative is similar to past-mayor Tom Murphy’s commitment to hold meetings in every neighborhood in the city. Peduto hopes to hold regularly scheduled events that will move throughout the area.
