Municipal Advocacy Resources
The office of Community Engagement and Leadership Development (CELD) encourages students to engage in advocacy at both the county and city level. Connecting with your county and city elected officials, utilizing the tools to make your voice heard, and understanding the processes involved with legislation are critical to fostering change in your community. The following list of advocacy resources provide a starting point for civic engagement.
Register to Vote
Voting is an important step toward civic involvment with your community. At CMU we provide you with voter registration tools so that you can be ready to cast your ballot.
Passing a Voter Referendum
What is a Voter Referendum?
A referendum is a form of direct democracy in which a proposed law or law change is submitted to the electorate for a vote, rather than the city or council council. The voters themselves approve or reject the measure, and it has a binding effect.
Steps of a Voter Referendum
- Write the proposed language for the voter referendum.
- Create petition forms to collect signatures of citizens who support the referendum. These forms must be uniform in size and style. Each signature must be signed in ink and followed by a.) the printed name b.) the place of residence (house number, street or road, and municipality) of the signor, and c.) the date of signing.
- Get the petition signed by at least 5% of the active registered voters in the county (or city).
- Once signed, the petitions must be complied into a single document. This document must be filed with the Allegheny County Board of Elections by the 13th Tuesday before the election.
Requesting a Public Hearing
A public hearing is a formal meeting that allows citizens to express their views or concerns to the city council on specific issues or proposed actions. These hearings are important for transparency and can influence decision-making processes.
To request a public hearing a resident of the city must collect 25 signatures from residents who are eligible to vote (regardless of registration status). These signatures must be presented to the city clerk. When requesting hearings related to pending legislation, the petition must be presented within three days of the introduction of the legislation. No comparable process for requesting a public hearing exists at the County level.
Speaking at a Public Hearing
Speaking at County Council
Allegheny County Council meetings are held monthly to establish the laws which govern Allegheny County.
To register to speak at a county council meeting you should fill out the Request to Comment form at least twenty-four hours prior to the hearing. If you register to speak you will get three minutes of speaking time. You must be registered in order to speak.
Speaking at City Council
Pittsburgh City Council meetings are held monthly to establish the laws which govern the City of Pittsburgh.
To register to speak at a City Council meeting you must fill out the Speaker Signup form or contact the City Clerk directly at 412-255-2138. Speaker registration for Regular and Standing Committees meetings closes one hour before the posted start time of each meeting. If you register to speak you will get three minutes of speaking time. If you do not register, you will only get one minute to speak and only once all registered speakers have spoken.
Running for Office
There are a wide variety of elected offices in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh—from election inspector all the way to city mayor. The different requirements for these offices can be found on the Elective Office Requirements Form.
The basic steps for running for office are the same across these various offices:
- Find out if you're eligible to run using the Elective Office Requirements form above.
- Collect the number of signatures required for the specific position.
- Send your collected signatures to the Allgheny County Board of Elections.
- Run your campaign!
Additional information and resources can be found on the Allgheny County Candidate and Municipality Resources page.
How a Law is Passed
Allegheny County
- Introduction: A County Council member formally introduces the ordinance/resolution at a Council meeting. The bill is read by title and posted publicly.
- Committee Referral: The Council President assigns the bill to the appropriate standing committee. The committee may hold hearings, invite testimony, and propose amendments.
- Public Comment: Citizens may speak at committee meetings or full Council meetings. A formal public hearing, held seperately from monthly council meetings may be held for major legislation.
- Committee Vote: The committee votes to advance the bill to the full Council (with or without recommendation). If the legislation has stalled in committee, the full Council can vote to pull it from committee.
- Council Readings: The bill must be read and considered at two separate meetings at least 7 days apart. Floor amendments can be proposed during the second meeting.
- Council Vote: For passage, a majority of seated members (typically at least 8 of 15) must vote in favor of the legislation.
- County Executive Review: If passed, the adopted bill is sent to the County Executive. The Executive can:
- Sign it into law.
- Veto it with objections.
- Take no action (the legislation becomes law after seven days).
- Veto Override (if needed): If the legislation is vetoed, the Council can override it with a two-thirds vote (10 of 15 members) held within 30 days of the veto.
- Enactment: Ordinances are codified into county law. Resolutions are recorded but not codified. The bill takes effect immediately or on a stated future date.
Pittsburgh City
- Introduction: A City Council member or the administrative branch can introduce a proposed law at a regular City Council meeting.
- Committee Referral: The proposed law is then referred to a standing committee for further discussion and preliminary votes.
- Debate and Vote: The full council debates and votes on the proposed legislation. Legislation can take the form of a.) ordinances, which are formal laws that make up the City Code, and b.) resolutions, which handle day-to-day activities.
- Public Hearings: Public hearings may be held to gather input from the public on proposed legislation.
- Final Action and Roll Call Vote: All final actions on legislation, including votes, are taken at public meetings and recorded in publicly accessible minutes.
- Mayor's Review: If passed by the council, the proposed law is sent to the Mayor. The Mayor can:
- Sign it into law.
- Veto it with objections.
- Take no action (the legislation becomes law after ten days).
- Veto Override (if needed): If the legislation is vetoed, the City Council can override it with a two-thirds vote (6 of 9 members) at its next meeting.
- Enactment: Ordinances are codified into city law. Resolutions are recorded but not codified. The bill takes effect immediately or on a stated future date.
Allegheny County Officials
Pittsburgh City Officials
Budgetary Process
County Budget Process
- Preparation: The Department of Budget and Finance develops the proposed budget under the direction of the County Executive and County Manager.
- Submission: The proposed budget is submitted to County Council.
- Review: County Council reviews, holds hearings, and votes on the budget.
- Adoption: Once passed (and signed or allowed to take effect), the budget becomes law.
- Implementation: The Department of Budget and Finance implements the budget, develops strategies for execution, and submits fund usage reports to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
City Budget Process
- Preparation: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) begins preparation of the Mayor’s Annual Budget.
- Assessment: OMB analysts meet with departments to review budget needs and performance.
- Recommendation: OMB submits recommendations to the Mayor, who presents a preliminary budget to City Council.
- Submission: The Mayor formally submits the proposed operating and capital budgets to Council.
- Review: City Council holds hearings, gathers public input, and may make minor changes.
- Adoption: City Council adopts the final budget.
- Implementation: OMB implements and monitors the budget, prepares quarterly reports, and manages budget transfers.
Key Addresses
- County Office Building: 542 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
- City Council Building: 414 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
- Allegheny County Courthouse: 436 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219