ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Elected officials in Allentown could soon have a harder time building out their teams, with some council members looking to limit who they can hire.
An Allentown City Council committee is slated Wednesday to consider two amendments to the city’s ethics code — one that would ban nepotism in city government and another that would block officials from hiring paid campaign employees after taking an elected post.
Allentown’s code on patronage requires new employees and appointees to disclose if they were engaged in any political activity “related to the election of city officials.”
The same ordinance bars city officials or employees from participating or influencing the appointment or hiring of a relative.
They also cannot directly supervise family members who also work for the city.
But that is not enough, according to Councilman Ed Zucal, one of several sponsors of each bill.
“Nobody appears to be abiding by this,” Zucal said of his support for the hiring bans. Both would add language that explicitly prohibits specific hirings
Zucal noted at least one member of Tuerk’s administration worked on his campaign.
Michaela Boyer serves as Tuerk’s executive assistant and project manager — and was interim director of the city’s human resources department for several months this year — after running his successful 2021 mayoral bid.
“If we do this (pass these ordinances), it will create less issues later on."City Council President Cynthia Mota
Council President Cynthia Mota also sponsored both bills. She said they're “the right thing to do,” adding that many companies and organizations have similar anti-nepotism policies.
“I just think that it's better if we become more transparent,” Mota told LehighValleyNews.com on Tuesday.
Family members working together “can cause issues,” she said.
“If we do this (pass these ordinances), it will create less issues later on,” Mota said.
Council’s committee on rules, chambers, intergovernmental relations and strategy is scheduled to discuss the proposed ordinances at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall.
The proposal to ban patronage was sponsored by four council members — Zucal, Mota, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Daryl Hendricks — signaling its likely passage.
Hendricks did not sign on as a sponsor of the proposed ban on nepotism.
A spokesperson for Tuerk’s administration did not respond to LehighValleyNews.com on Tuesday.
