Pittsburgh voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly supported a ballot referendum that will give the city more flexibility in how it publishes some public notices.
Prior to the referendum, the city was required to post notice for public hearings in a newspaper of general circulation. The measure voters backed Tuesday allows the city to instead advertise those notices “via successor media that reasonably ensures public access,” which could include digital news publications or the city website.
The measure pertains to notices for hearings on topics like the city budget or zoning changes.
More than 80% of the nearly 47,000 people who voted on the ballot question were in favor, according to unofficial election results.
City Council voted to place the question on the ballot earlier this year, after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s longtime owners announced plans to shutter the newspaper in May. The Post-Gazette has since been purchased by the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which has continued operations, albeit with a smaller staff.
TribLive has also since launched a weekly print edition focused on Pittsburgh news.
