Allentown Parking Authority's 'unchecked power' target of proposed study

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Citing a lack of accountability and transparency, Mayor Matt Tuerk is calling for a study of the Allentown Parking Authority's management and structure.

Tuerk on Wednesday will ask city council to approve moving $10,000 from the city's 2023 unappropriated balance to the mayor's office for an analysis of the parking authority, which has come under fire from residents alleging overbearing and predatory practices.

• Mayor Matt Tuerk wants a consultant to study the Allentown Parking Authority
• Residents have issued a raft of complaints recently about parking enforcement
• Two special meetings of the parking authority are scheduled — one Thursday and another next week

“I delivered an ordinance to City Council this week requesting funds to hire a consultant to provide the City with a legal and policy analysis of the Allentown Parking Authority,” Tuerk said Tuesday in a prepared statement.

“The goal of the study would look into how to move forward with the ongoing delivery of equitable and efficient parking services in the City of Allentown.”

Council is expected to consider the request at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In a resolution supporting the ordinance for the money transfer, Tuerk says the parking authority "has pursued a path which suggests that it is driven by revenue" and "has provoked anger in our citizenry by disregarding the interests of the people."

Tuerk said he is stepping in to support residents' interest.

"This unchecked power forces us now to act," he said in the resolution.

Parking authority Executive Director John Morgan referred questions about Tuerk's request to authority board Chairman Ted Zeller.

Zeller said authority officials have noted a flood of recent complaints and are taking action to address them.

"It's important to note we respect anything the mayor wants to do with regard to studying the parking authority. We welcome all inquiries and strive for transparency," Zeller said.

He said a special parking authority meeting Thursday is intended to review several antiquated ordinances and make recommended changes to city council.

Another special meeting set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, is to hear from residents who have concerns. The meeting was set for the early evening to accommodate people who can't make the authority's regularly-scheduled daytime meetings, Zeller said.

A parade of residents have shown up at parking authority meetings the past two months, complaining of unfair and aggressive ticketing.

According to Zeller, that has coincided with a ramp-up in enforcement personnel that has enabled the authority to fill shifts around the clock. He said parking complaints used to be handled by the police department dispatch, and officers responded to them, but those responsibilities shifted to the parking authority within the last couple of years.

Complaints at all hours now go to the parking authority and an enforcement officer responds. It has been exacerbated the past few months by more traffic and people in areas like Center City, which wasn't as much of an issue in the height of the pandemic.

"We're covering more times of enforcement now because dispatch was turned over to us," he said. "It has generated more ticketing and more angst from the citizenry."

Zeller said the authority is modifying internal policy as a means to address residents' concerns, and reviewing ordinances with an eye toward creating more parking inventory while maintaining public safety.

If Tuerk gets his way, a consultant will examine parking authority operations, including residential parking, parking enforcement, parking garage management, governance structures and debt.

"The administration of the (parking authority) has — through its actions — shown the flaws of an independent authority tasked with managing a critical need of Allentown residents," Tuerk said.

A study, he said, will help city leaders understand options and align with Allentown's Vision 230 Plan — a 10-year comprehensive and economic development plan adopted in 2019.