Public Hearing on Bill 165: Petition Regarding Records Tampering and Financial Misconduct at Pittsburgh Municipal Court - March 24, 2026
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Public Hearing on Bill 165: Petition Regarding Records Tampering and Financial Misconduct at Pittsburgh Municipal Court - March 24, 2026
This public hearing was held by Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 1:30 PM to consider Bill 165, a petition from city residents requesting a hearing regarding documented records tampering (18 Pa. C.S. § 4911) and financial misconduct at the Pittsburgh Municipal Court records section (660 First Avenue). The petition was certified as valid under the Home Rule Charter. The hearing featured limited public testimony and no council discussion or action beyond adjournment.
Note: The system instruction specified a meeting date of March 26, 2026, but the meeting minutes and transcript consistently refer to March 24, 2026. This summary uses the date from the source materials.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chief How McKinney (Grand Included Earth Law Confederacy of Aboriginal American people) testified in favor of the petition, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency. He urged the city to inform the public about the alleged misconduct, hold information sessions, and explain how it plans to address the actions described. He noted that many citizens who have dealt with the court at 660 First Avenue are unaware of potential overcharges or misuse of their information.
- Two other registered speakers (Richard Mardonian and Joyce Schlag) did not appear.
- No additional speakers came forward from the audience.
Key Outcomes
- No votes or formal decisions were taken. The council held the public hearing as required by the petition, heard one speaker, and adjourned without further discussion.
- Councilwoman Kim Solonetro joined the meeting after public testimony; no remarks were made by any council member.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to Pittsburgh City Council's Cable Cast Public Hearing for Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 regarding Bill 165. Kurt, please read the title of the bill. Bill 165, petition from the residents of the City of Pittsburgh requesting a public hearing before City Council regarding documented records, tampering, and financial misconduct at the Pittsburgh Municipal Court Records Section, 661st Avenue. The petition is valid in accordance with the home rule charter. Thank you. Our first order of business will be testimony from our registered speakers. Please give your name, provide your neighborhood for the public record. Each registered speaker will have three minutes to address counsel. Our first registered speaker is Richard Mardonian. Is Mr. Mardonian with us? I do not believe so. Our next speaker is Joyce Schlag. Is Joyce Lag with us? I do not see her. Greetings, my title is Chief How McKinney and the Grand Included Earth Law Confederacy of Aboriginal American people. Accountability and transparency. And closely examine the facts before accountability can even take place. Which gives way to the second word. One must be open, candid, truthful, and put all the facts on the table without holding any information from another. Please allow those you serve to clearly see how you manage the affairs of this city by holding information sessions, letting the public know what's going on, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And in some cases, even the obvious. And so when an egregious act takes place, what are the actions to follow the redress what has happened? This is not widely known to most people in this city, and a lot of people have come by the way of 660 First Avenue. So I think you should do more to get this information out to the public because they are unaware how their information has been misused or any over charges that has resulted of these actions of an unknown assailant or whoever has done these egregious actions. The public really needs to know you haven't done your due diligence to make sure that the public is informed. A meeting at 130, public comments at 130. Thank you very much. That exhausts our list of registered speakers will now entertain anyone in chambers wishing to speak. Please come forward, provide your name, neighborhood for the record. You'll be given one minute to speak. Is there anyone in chambers wishing to speak? No? All right. Let the record reflect that we've been joined by Councilwoman Kim Solonetro. Uh, we'll turn it over to members if there's anything you want to add. If not, having uh exhausted the business of this public hearing, this meeting is adjourned.
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