ALLENTOWN, Pa. — There seems little chance that a lawsuit Allentown City Council brought against Mayor Matt Tuerk this month will be settled without a court battle.
The suit, filed Sept. 6 in Lehigh County Court, alleges Tuerk and city Finance Director Bina Patel are obstructing council's investigation of racism and discrimination in city government.
At the heart of the litigation is Tuerk’s refusal to honor council’s contract with former FBI agent Scott Curtis.
Allentown Finance Director Bina Patel “has put a stranglehold on City Council’s investigation."Lawsuit filed by Allentown City Council
Council in June hired Curtis’ company, FLEO Investigations, after breaking with the city’s standard procurement process.
Council in its lawsuit asks a judge to order Tuerk and Patel to “accept, process and pay … all invoices submitted by City Council in connection with its investigation.”
Patel, through her failure to perform those duties, “has put a stranglehold on City Council’s investigation,” the lawsuit alleges.
City council members in support of the lawsuit did not answer messages Tuesday seeking comment, but Vice President Santo Napoli and Councilwoman Candida Affa immediately spoke out against the litigation.
Several members have since weighed in, but mostly to say they have no comment.
Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach on Wednesday declined an opportunity to address the lawsuit and referred questions to Council President Cynthia Mota and Councilman Ed Zucal.
Council: Lawsuit 'speaks for itself'
Mota and Councilman Daryl Hendricks spoke to LehighValleyNews.com after a committee meeting Wednesday.
Both had little to add beyond what’s laid out in the lawsuit, saying it “speaks for itself.”
“This is nothing but a dark cloud over the city and now we want to get beyond this. There are too many good and positive things happening” in the city.Councilman Daryl Hendricks
“This is nothing but a dark cloud over the city and now we want to get beyond this,” Hendricks said. “There are too many good and positive things happening” in the city.
Zucal, who spearheaded council’s push for the legal fight with the mayor, responded to LehighValleyNews.com on Friday via text.
“At the request of our attorney, we are not commenting on the suit," Zucal said. "It speaks for itself.”
Council members made one thing clear, despite saying little: They will only settle out of court if the mayor signs off on the contract as they approved it.
“If he agreed to our investigator, that’s what we’re asking for,” Hendricks said of what it would take for council to drop the lawsuit.
Tuerk has taken a similar-but-opposite stance.
He said Tuesday he’s “ready to work together with City Council to move forward with an assessment that follows the proper procedures ensuring a fair, transparent and open process.”
That means the city — and its taxpayers — could soon be on the hook for legal fees earmarked to climb well into six figures.
Long-brewing battle
The Allentown NAACP published a letter in July 2023 that included numerous allegations of workplace discrimination and racism by and against city employees.
Those allegations included claims that some white Allentown police officers threatened to shoot their Black colleagues, who are targeted by racial slurs and “continuously threatened,” the letter said.
Employees of color reported being “verbally attacked” by white supervisors, while it’s also alleged that white managers "rule out Black and Brown employees during promotions,” the letter states.
City Council in October unanimously passed a bill authorizing the investigation, a power they hold under the city’s home-rule charter.
That bill also established a selection committee, with Mota, Gerlach and Zucal to work with the city’s purchasing bureau to hire an investigator.
A probe, and a lawsuit
Council voted 6-1 in early June to bring Curtis on to lead the probe into claims of workplace discrimination and racism publicized the NAACP.
Tuerk and his administration argue Curtis’ hiring ran afoul of proper procedures because Patel was not included on the selection committee.
Allentown’s administrative code requires the city’s finance director or a representative to sit on any bid-selection committee.
But council passed a resolution in February that overrode that requirement and sidelined all but one Allentown city employee from the process that led to Curtis’ hiring.
Members have set aside $300,000 for the investigation and allocated $20,000 to hire an attorney to pursue litigation against Tuerk.
Philadelphia-based attorney Mary Kay Brown is paid $350 an hour for her work on council’s lawsuit, while associates who help her are paid $225 an hour.
