ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown officials could make a sizable investment in next year’s budget to help curb homelessness in the city.
Council members on Wednesday earmarked $150,000 for a “homelessness coordinator.”
That coordinator would work with city departments and nonprofits to boost efficiency and “deliver the maximum amount of resources possible to our unsheltered community,” Councilman Santo Napoli said.
“We cannot expect our current staff to just only focus on homelessness; They have so many other things to do."Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach
Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach, who sponsored the proposal, said a coordinator could help the city “tackle, at an administrative level, the issue of homelessness.”
“We cannot expect our current staff to just only focus on homelessness," she said. "They have so many other things to do.
“A coordinator would be able to bring together all of the related issues and focus on how those issues affect the unsheltered or unhoused population.”
Council asked Mayor Matt Tuerk to deliver a detailed budget for the new position by Jan. 8.
'An awful lot of money'
Tuerk said Wednesday the $150,000 expense would cover a salary of about $65,000 and about $43,000 in benefits and taxes.
That would leave about $32,000 for the coordinator to use on data management, communication and outreach.
“There’s a lot happening [to address homelessness] and nobody to act as the coordinator."Mayor Matt Tuerk
The mayor listed ways various departments are “separately” working to better understand and respond to homelessness, such as Allentown Fire Department mapping out encampments and the department of community and economic development pushing for “long-term solutions.”
“There’s a lot happening and nobody to act as the coordinator,” he said.
Councilman Daryl Hendricks voiced concerns about the potential new position.
“I think this is an awful lot of money to put to this,” Hendricks said. He called on Lehigh County to do more to address homelessness.
“The county has yet to step forward, and I think that we're taking on a big responsibility here and [placing] a big burden … on the taxpayers of the city of Allentown,” Hendricks said before voting to add the $150,000 expense to the 2025 budget.
