October 15, 2005 | Volume 2, Issue 2
Systems Synthesis: Boards, Authorities, and Commissions Research Project
On Thursday, August 4, 2005, the Boards, Authorities, and Commissions Research Project Team presented its research and held a press conference on the policy issue of fair representation for elected officials, civic and community leaders and affiliates of the Heinz School. Fair representation addresses the demographic composition of those appointed to non-elected public entities in the City of Pittsburgh and in Allegheny County; the research is focused specifically on the representation of women and African-Americans who historically have not been represented in the pool of candidates for appointments. This document presents the team’s proposed plan for action by the local governments of the Greater Pittsburgh Region.
Executive Summary
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has one of the nation’s most elaborate systems of state and local government, and the Pittsburgh region leads the nation with over 400 local government entities, or 17.7 government bodies per 100,000 residents. Like most U.S. metropolitan areas, the City of Pittsburgh (City) and Allegheny County (County) are governed not only by elected officials but also dozens of public, non-elected boards, authorities and commissions (BACs). These BACs which address everything from the arts to air pollution provide an opportunity for citizens to become directly involved in public decision-making. This density of governmental entities not only leads to bureaucracy but also makes basic governance processes less transparent.
The Boards, Authorities, and Commissions Research Project Team (herein referred to as “the Team”) was convened in May 2005 in conjunction with the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania (WGF). The Team conducted research on the demographics of the BACs in the City and County by race and by gender, and also generated recommendations for the City and County to use in implementing a more transparent and inclusive public board appointment policy.
The Team found that there is a disparity between the percentage of women appointed to City and County BACs and the respective total population demographics. Women make up 51 percent of the working-age population of the city, but only 34 percent of the City BAC membership. In the County, women comprise 52 percent of the working-age population and 29 percent of BAC membership. As for minority appointments, both the City’s and the County’s aggregate appointments accurately reflect the greater population demographics for African Americans, who comprise the largest minority group in the Pittsburgh region. African Americans make up 24 percent of the City’s working-class population and 12 percent of the County’s. Correspondingly, African Americans make up 25 percent of the City BAC appointees and 22 percent of the County BAC appointees.
In light of this data, the Team has made a series of recommendations, as follows:
- Adopt eight identified “best practices” at both the City and County level, creating an appointment process that is accessible and transparent to the public. On external City and County websites:
- Provide detailed and current information on BACs.
- Provide a comprehensive listing of all BACs.
- Provide a description of BAC purpose, responsibilities and composition requirements.
- Provide information on BAC term lengths.
- Provide a listing of current BAC members with names, photos, dates of appointment and term expiration dates (including date last updated).
- Provide information on how applications are processed.
- Communicate BAC vacancies. Additionally, vacancies should be disseminated through community publications, school district newsletters, borough publications, and other free publications.
- Adopt a fair representation policy that includes the above best practices as well as a the following:
- Conduct an annual demographic assessment of each BAC‘s membership that includes an aggregate total of board members’ race and gender, as well as the race and gender composition of individual BACs. Annual results should be presented to the appropriate governing body and made publicly available on the City and County websites.
- Institute a training program on effective governance and decision making for all new appointees to BACs in the City and County. As part of this training, the City and County will provide each appointee with a board member handbook, all pertinent contact information, board member rights and obligations, conflict-of-interest policies and descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of board members.
The City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County contain a wealth of talent and energy in their communities. Both the City and the County will benefit from a fair and open appointment process which ensures that the demographics of the region are reflected on BACs. Additionally, broad-based participation will provide role models from various social, economic and cultural segments of the community, and will provide an entry point for future leaders to engage in civic activities and the political process. When all BACs represent the diversity of City and County residents and are balanced by gender and race, the region will be better served.
This project was completed as a Heinz School “Systems Synthesis Project” during the summer of 2005. Additional information about the Boards, Authorities, and Commissions Research Project Team, including a list of the team members and the full research report, can be found at http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/systems/65.html.