Sec. 620, Jurisdiction and enforcement - Pittsburgh Open Government Amendment

Open government = better government!

Sec. 620

620.       Jurisdiction and enforcement


 

Any entity acting under or on behalf of the City shall comply with this amendment.  If the City doesn't have legal power to compel, it shall use its power of the purse to do so.

a.       Article 6 and its corresponding City policies and regulations shall apply to all the City's agencies, its units of government, and such other entities or agents as may have appointees of or be funded, all or in part, by or be acting for or on behalf of the City, including but not limited to entities who administer and/or operate City facilities and/or provide services to the public through arrangements with the City.   In instances where there is no statutory basis to compel compliance with this Article, such requirements as needed to assure compliance shall be included by the City as a condition of City participation, funding, contracts, leases, and/or other arrangements as appropriate.


b.       Except where otherwise addressed herein, where a provision of Article 6 is not implemented or applied either in general or in specific, any resident, property owner, or party with standing may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for a writ of mandamus to require compliance, provided:


      1.       they have first given 60 days notice of the deficiency to the City Solicitor or designee, who shall render a determination and notify the responsible parties; and


      2.       if during such time the noncomplying parties have neither remedied the deficiency, nor proceeded in good faith to do so, nor provided valid reason why compliance at the time is not required.


c.       Where a particular legislative or administrative action or decision has occurred or is to occur which is subject to a provision of Article 6, a request to stay and enjoin due to noncompliance may be filed with the court by a party with standing or as a class action.


d.       The court shall give weight to the requirements of the Article and shall only set them aside where the exigencies of the situation were reasonably unanticipated and are significant, substantial, and extreme.


e.       Costs incurred by the prevailing side may be assessed by the court upon:


      1.       the City and/or other culpable parties, if found against;


      2.       upon the petitioner(s), if the filing is found to be grossly frivolous, harassment, or primarily disruptive in purpose.