Just a quick "shout-out" to City Council (Pittsburgh: living in, bill)

[youngabe]

My councilperson is Theresa Kail-Smith. I emailed her this afternoon in regards to a concern I had with our trash collection. Within 10 minutes, she emailed me back and carbon copied a contact at the city's Environmental Services. He then proceeded to call me and discuss the matter within another 10 minutes of receiving the email.

I'm thoroughly impressed with that response time to a minor problem.

[Craziaskowboi]

Sounds like everybody's doing their best to please the new boss.

[szug-bot]

come on - why the sarcasm, gnu? kail-smith kicks ass. i am not surprised she responded the way she did, regardless if the chief were o'connor, luke, peduto, or donnie iris! she is not my councilperson, but shes smart and involved.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

kail-smith kicks ass! shes smart and involved.

How does she compare to Dan Deasy?

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by youngabe

My councilperson is Theresa Kail-Smith. I emailed her this afternoon in regards to a concern I had with our trash collection. Within 10 minutes, she emailed me back and carbon copied a contact at the city's Environmental Services. He then proceeded to call me and discuss the matter within another 10 minutes of receiving the email.

I'm thoroughly impressed with that response time to a minor problem.

I'm glad it all worked out well for you.

But why didn't you just call Environmental Services first, and then if you didn't get a response phone the mayor's office.

Ms. Kail-Smith is in the legislative branch, the refuse collectors don't report her, they report to the executive branch and ultimately to Mr. Peduto.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

How does she compare to Dan Deasy?

For one brief moment, I thought you said Dan Deacon

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I'm glad it all worked out well for you.

But why didn't you just call Environmental Services first, and then if you didn't get a response phone the mayor's office.

Ms. Kail-Smith is in the legislative branch, the refuse collectors don't report her, they report to the executive branch and ultimately to Mr. Peduto.

i think thats appropriate - people often bug O'Connor and Kraus to complain about roads, potholes, and those "operations" type concerns. we're not specifically sure what the concern was, though - did they not collect the garbage, or maybe were operating their vehicle where they shouldnt.....etc. councilmembers arent the direct way to go (kail-smith referred her to someone else, ultimately) but they should, and do serve in the way of directing people to the proper person.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I'm glad it all worked out well for you.

But why didn't you just call Environmental Services first, and then if you didn't get a response phone the mayor's office.

Ms. Kail-Smith is in the legislative branch, the refuse collectors don't report her, they report to the executive branch and ultimately to Mr. Peduto.

In a perfect city, that would be true but as a normal citizen in Pittsburgh it's hard to get city departments to talk to you or even answer your call. I've found that dealing with my local council person (or usually their assistant) is a lot more effective in getting things done. We don't vote for the anyone in Environmental Services so they don't really care what we think about how well they're doing their job but we do vote for our council people and they do care what we think.

[LIRefugee]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

kail-smith kicks ass.

I met her once and had a positive impression. She seemed to genuinely want to serve and represent her constituents rather than use her position to climb the political ladder. That's good for the people of her district.

[Pghuser]

It's more that that Environmental Services department is the best run department in the city. Had this been any other department I doubt it would've been handled so quickly. Bill Klimovich is a class act. I have found that Kail-Smith to be one of the most vindictive members of City Council. There are areas of her district that are completely ignored by her and her staff because of perceived opponents living in certain pockets. She's as phony as a 3 dollar bill.