Archive for the ‘Reforming the Investment of Public Dollars’ Category
Pittsburgh Becomes Third U.S. City to Pass a Responsible Banking Ordinance
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
posted by Matt Barron
Pittsburgh City Council, yesterday, gave final approval to legislation asking banks that hold City deposits to create community reinvestment plans to outline how they will invest City money back into our neighborhoods. Pittsburgh becomes just the third city in the United States, after Cleveland and Philadelphia, to pass such an ordinance.
Councilman Peduto crafted this legislation after a year of working with community representatives, the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, and 16 of the region’s small, medium, and large financial institutions. The original bill was introduced last year and passed by Council but vetoed by Mayor Ravenstahl. It was then reintroduced by Councilman Lavelle two weeks later. Councilman Lavelle’s bill was very similar to the original legislation but included some provisions that ran afoul of federal reporting guidelines. The proposal was amended to meet all federal requirements and still provide the needed goals of neighborhood investment. After a year and a half of hard work, we finally have a Responsible Banking ordinance in the City of Pittsburgh.
The legislation, while not perfect, will create competition among financial institutions that do business with the City to see which ones can offer the best interests rates while also providing the most home loans, small business loans, and neighborhood grants to areas of the City most in need. It will also provide the public with a detailed record of which financial institutions are excelling in their community investment practices and which still have some work to do.
The process that this important piece of legislation went through is a great example of what is possible when community organizations, the business community, and elected officials sit down together to discuss common goals and strategies for positive change.
Tags: Bill Peduto, City, Finances, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh City Council, Responsible Banking and Neighborhood Reinvestment
Posted in Opening Government's Books, Reforming the Investment of Public Dollars | No Comments »
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Friday, May 1st, 2009
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Posted in Attacking Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, Breaking the Cycle of Pay-to-Play Politics, Creating a Firewall Between Politics and Government, Eliminating Political Walking Around Money, Ending No-Bid Contracts, Hiring Based on Merit, Opening Government's Books, Reforming the Investment of Public Dollars, Strengthening the Ethics Code, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
