- Two ballot questions proposing raises for Allentown City Council members and the city controller were successful Tuesday
- Council members' pay will jump more than 130% while the controller's salary will climb by about 50%
- Allentown ballots could have included up to five questions, but three were rejected by city and county officials
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Three Allentown City Council members were re-elected Tuesday, and their new terms could come with big raises after voters approved them on a ballot question.
Unofficial results show voters also passed a raise of more than 50% for the city controller, a position to which incumbent Jeff Glazier was re-elected after running unopposed.
The proposed raises for those two offices were separate questions on 2023 municipal election ballots in Allentown.
Salary hike for controller
The first ballot question asked whether the city should amend its home-rule charter to tie the controller’s salary to the mayor’s pay.
More than 5,300 people voted “yes” on Referendum 1, while 5,045 voted “no,” a split of 51.46% to 48.54%.Unofficial election results from Lehigh County
The salary for the controller was set at just under $50,000 when voters approved Allentown’s home-rule charter in 1996.
Referendum 1 proposed setting the controller’s salary at 80% of the mayor’s salary. Glazier would make about $76,000, based on Mayor Matt Tuerk’s $95,000 salary, after voters approved the question.
As of 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, 5,349 people voted “yes” on the referendum, while 5,045 voted “no,” a split of 51.46% to 48.54%, according to unofficial election results from Lehigh County.
Tying the controller’s pay rate to the mayor’s also takes away voters’ authority to change the controller’s salary in the future.
Allentown’s home-rule charter required “all future increases or decreases in the City Controller’s salary” to be determined by referendum until Tuesday’s vote.
City Council raises
The second ballot question asked voters to authorize huge raises for Allentown City Council members.
Voters approved that referendum by a much larger margin than the first. More than 5,900 people (56.84%) voted in favor of the raises, while 4,491 people (43.16%) voted against them, according to unofficial election results with all precincts reporting full vote counts.
Incumbents Santo Napoli, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Candida Affa will start new terms next year with much higher pay rates than when they won re-election Tuesday night.
Council members earn $6,400 per year, the same as a quarter-century ago. Referendum 2 proposed raising their salaries to $15,000 — an increase of more than 130%. It also will raise the salary of the council’s president to $16,000.
Almost 57% of voters supported raises for City Council members, while about 43% voted against them.Unofficial election results from Lehigh County
Council President Daryl Hendricks called his pay “embarrassing” in July before voting to put the question on 2023 ballots. He also said it was “ridiculous” that council members and controllers have never gotten a raise.
Candida Affa said at the same meeting that her salary felt “almost like a slap in the face” for the amount of work and time she puts into the job.
Gerlach and council member Natalie Santos voted against sending the ballot question to voters. Gerlach said she was “uncomfortable” asking for more money after serving eight years without pay on Allentown's school board.
Only voters can increase Allentown City Council members’ pay under the city’s home-rule charter.
Voters rejected the only previous attempt to increase the pay for council members and controllers; more than 80% voted against raises in 2002.
Left off the ballot
Allentown voters could have seen up to five referendums on their ballots, but three questions were rejected by City Council and Lehigh County elections officials.
Shortly after approving ballot questions in July to ask voters for large raises, council rejected measures that would’ve given voters a chance to impose term limits on itself and the controller’s office.
Members would’ve been forced to step down after three four-year terms, while the controller would’ve been barred from serving more than two terms.
The Lehigh County Board of Elections kept a proposal for an alternative first-response program off Allentown ballots.
The proposed pilot program, which would’ve sent "mobile community response teams” to some 911 calls instead of police, was voted down 4-2 by Allentown City Council in June.
But more than 3,800 residents signed petitions in support of the program, sending it to the board of elections to review and place on ballots.
Initiatives with at least 2,000 signatures become ballot questions if council members do not approve them within 60 days, according to the city’s code.
The Lehigh County Board of Elections unanimously rejected the proposed ballot question, with County Executive Phil Armstrong saying it had more than a dozen legal issues.
