Allentown City Council members late Wednesday approved Mayor Matt Turk’s $138 million budget for 2023.
Members remain intact about $5 million in Turk-requested American rescue plan appropriations, which will create several new jobs for city departments such as parks and recreation, human resources, and emergency medical services.
But the council made several changes, including removing the city’s chief operating officer position, funding a forensic audit of the city’s finances, and paying for five to 10 new officers from general funds, not ARPA, as Turk had suggested.
Members also voted to establish a $1.5 million youth mentoring program through the American Rescue Plan dollars. The board initially opted to use the city’s cash reserves to fund the program, but changed course after responding to Turk’s request that he downgrade the city’s bonds.
Drawing money from the city’s roughly $20 million in cash reserves is tantamount to incurring additional debt, Turk said, and would jeopardize the city’s ability to borrow money in the future.
Several city activists praised the investment. $1.5 million will be used to build a Trusted Messenger program that connects Allentown adult mentors with at-risk youth in the city.
Activists say a reliable messenger program is key to curbing violence because messengers can connect with Allentown children in ways that the average teacher, social worker or police officer cannot. Trusted Messengers are often people who were imprisoned or on probation but have since changed their lives.
The city council narrowly rejected an amendment by Councilor Ce-Ce Gerlach that would have removed the $1.5 million allocated for the redevelopment of the Allentown Metal Works.
The redevelopment of the Allentown Metal Works site will bring up to 125 new jobs to Allentown and return the long-abandoned, vacant property to the city’s tax register, officials said. But Gerlach said officials were not providing sufficient guarantees that the new jobs would benefit the Allentown community.
“Reluctance that this job has been given to Allentown residents? said Gerlach. “I want to give the union and [Property] Marcan some more time to sort this out.”
Gerlach’s proposal narrowly failed 3-3, with Gerlach, Natalie Santos and Ed Zukal choosing to remove the allotment and Darryl Hendricks, Cynthia Motta and Candida Afa choosing to leave it in the budget. Since the vote was cast, $1.5 million remains in the budget.
The board voted unanimously to eliminate the position of chief operating officer, a new title Turk created early in his term as mayor. Leonard Lightner, who previously served as the city’s director of community development and economics, took over for five months this year before abruptly stepping down in the summer.
“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to get everything, but I know that’s not how the world works,” Turk said of the council vote.
Several other amendments by Zucal and Hendricks that would have eliminated other municipal jobs, including the project manager and administrative assistant mayor, fell through.
Members voted to allocate $100,000 from the city’s budget for a forensic audit of the city’s finances. Before the vote, Motta said he “couldn’t detail” why the test was needed, but said he supported the move.
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