Council to pick Allentown City Hall investigators without input from administration

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown city administration officials will play no role in awarding a contract for a looming investigation into City Hall.

City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to sideline all but one Allentown city employee from participating in the bid-selection process.

Council moved to bar city officials because “it is a clear conflict of interest” to let them help choose who will investigate allegations of racism and discrimination against the administration, Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach said.

Councilman Ed Zucal said members have faced “nothing but resistance” from the administration, though Mayor Matt Tuerk has said he “welcomes” the investigation.

Zucal chairs a three-person committee tasked with hiring an agency to run the investigation. He led the push to keep administration officials out of the process.

Allentown’s administrative code requires city Finance Director Bina Patel to sit on any bid-selection committee.

But the resolution passed Wednesday overrides that requirement.

Allentown Purchasing Agent Sarrah McNeil will be the only city employee involved, as she will guide council members through the process to award a contract for the investigation.

Procedures 'don't neatly apply'

Banning Patel from the process is “a bad idea” that “puts the city at risk,” Tuerk has said.

And Allentown assistant solicitor Adam Rosenthal on Wednesday warned council members they could face later issues with the investigation if they don’t properly award the contract.

“If the proper procurement procedures aren't followed, you open yourself [up] for all of the penalties,” Rosenthal said.

But Gerlach made it clear council members are not trying to flout any legal requirements.

“To say that we're not following the proper procurement procedures is a false statement, because the proper procurement procedures ... don't neatly apply to this situation,” she said.

“It’s a false statement to say we're not following the procedures that don't exist for us.”

Council’s contract for an investigation is deemed a professional-services contract under the city’s administrative code as the code doesn’t explicitly mention council-ordered investigations.

City Clerk Mike Hanlon said the investigation is the first he’s seen Allentown City Council order in more than three decades.

Investigation incoming

Allentown City Council in October approved an investigation amid growing complaints from employees and residents about alleged racism and discrimination in city government.

That came three months after the Allentown NAACP released a letter detailing many damning allegations, including claims that some white Allentown police officers threatened to shoot their Black colleagues and target them with racial slurs.

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.

Tuerk sent an email in the wake of the letter’s release to deny its accusations that his administration “ignores” racism and discrimination.

City Council meetings last fall featured regular calls from residents and employees — both former and current — to launch an investigation into City Hall.

Council passed a no-confidence measure against Tuerk in December, several weeks after he fired a city employee who repeatedly called for the investigation.

City spokeswoman Genesis Ortega said former human resources employee Karen Ocasio was among three people Tuerk fired after an 18-month investigation into the department.

Zucal, who chairs a three-member committee tasked with hiring the investigating agency, said he remains optimistic the probe will be done by the end of the year, despite the short delay in the process because of the now-approved resolution.