ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown City Council committee is set to hold a special meeting Thursday night as it tries to block Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration from helping select who will investigate City Hall.
Council members Daryl Hendricks, Ed Zucal and Ce-Ce Gerlach formed a hiring committee last year after the full council unanimously approved an investigation into claims of racism and discrimination among city employees.
“Because we're excluding trained professionals from being involved in the procurement of a service, I think it puts us at significant risk. I think it's a bad idea.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
City officials issued a request for proposals from investigative agencies in December, and bids were due to be opened last month, Zucal has said.
Zucal, Hendricks and Gerlach are set to meet Thursday night to debate a resolution that, if approved, would block all but one administration employee, including Finance Director Bina Patel, from continuing to participate in the RFP process.
A purchasing agent is the only city employee who could “participate in scoring” bids and “be present” while council members are choosing who will win the investigation contract.
Employees in Tuerk’s administration would be barred from choosing the investigating agency “since it is an investigation of the administration,” the resolution states.
‘A bad idea’
Allentown’s administrative code requires the city’s finance director to be part of any bid-selection committee, a mandate that the resolution runs afoul of.
Sidelining Patel from the city’s process to award a contract for the investigation “puts [the city] at risk,” Tuerk told LehighValleyNews.com on Wednesday.
“Because we're excluding trained professionals from being involved in the procurement of a service, I think it puts us at significant risk,” Tuerk said. “I think it's a bad idea.”
The finance director is involved in awarding bids to ensure the city follows its purchasing policies, Tuerk said.
“We welcome an investigation that is properly conducted, properly procured and doesn't put the city at risk,” he said.
The FBI investigated former Mayor Ed Pawlowski in 2015 due, in part, to his administration awarding contracts without following proper bid-selection procedures.
Pawlowski has served about six years of his 15-year federal-prison sentence for a slew of convictions related to contracting.
Investigation details
Allentown City Council approved the new investigation in October after repeatedly hearing from employees and residents about alleged racism and discrimination.
The Allentown NAACP released a letter in July that detailed "a concerning number of complaints from Black and Brown employees” who work in City Hall.
Those allegations include claims that some white Allentown police officers threatened to shoot their Black colleagues, who are allegedly targeted by racial slurs and “continuously threatened.”
The letter called on Tuerk “to take a stand against racism in your workplace” and use “these alleged incidents [as] a catalyst for positive change.”
The agency chosen to investigate will be tasked with examining all terminations and resignations within city government since the start of 2022.
Investigators also are expected to speak with people who filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Human Relations Commission, or internal complaints.
Council members will evaluate agencies’ experience with municipal investigations, as well as the cost of their proposals, while working to award the contract, Zucal has told LehighValleyNews.com.
Investigators could get to work within a month of the contract being awarded, but the investigation likely will take about half a year to complete, he said.
