Allentown City Council could sue mayor for allegedly blocking racism investigation

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk presents his proposed 2024 budget at a press conference at Allentown City Hall on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

A public dispute between the Allentown City Council and Mayor Matt Tuerk over the appointment of an independent investigator could end up in court, a council member suggested Tuesday.

On the City Council agenda for Wednesday is a resolution appropriating $20,000 to hire a lawyer to take “legal action” against Tuerk for allegedly trying to stop an investigation into alleged workplace discrimination at City Hall.

Zucal confirmed the council’s plans in an interview on Tuesday.

“We will sue the mayor,” Zucal said.

Tuerk, for his part, has said that while he supports an investigation, the City Council did not necessarily follow legal procedures in hiring an investigator. In a statement Monday night, he said council members were trying to “pillory” him and his administration and were focused on “advancing their own political agendas.”

“I fully support an investigation into the City of Allentown’s personnel practices, but I do not support the inappropriate and unlawful process the City Council used to select a candidate,” Tuerk said in a statement.

The City Council first announced its intention to launch an independent investigation into alleged discrimination and racism at City Hall last year after the Allentown NAACP published an open letter accusing Tuerk and other city leaders of ignoring and failing to address complaints. In June, the council voted 6-1 to hire FLEO Investigations, owned by former FBI agent Scott Curtis, to conduct the probe.

In a statement, Tuerk accused Curtis of bias because he publicly announced last week that he had found “evidence” to support some allegations of discrimination but had not contacted the mayor’s office, the legal department or human resources.

Curtis said he would not “draw any conclusions” until the investigation was complete, but had “gathered some facts and evidence that appear to support some of the allegations made.”

The city is entering legally tricky territory with Curtis’ hiring because the council failed to follow statutory procurement procedures. In a memo last week, Tuerk said Curtis’ hiring was invalid for several reasons, including because Curtis was initially disqualified because of a technical issue with his application and because the council did not issue a proper “request for proposal” but instead placed a job advertisement in the Morning Call.

Council members argued that the City Council was not required to follow the city’s procurement procedures because the city charter allows the council to conduct independent investigations but does not explicitly outline how it should select an independent investigator. The City Council issued Curtis a “contract agreement” rather than a formal contract, which Zucal said would allow the council to bypass the mayor’s signature on the hire.

Curtis has not yet been paid for his investigative work; the resolution calls on Finance Director Bina Patel to “promptly and timely pay all invoices submitted by the investigator and approved by the council.” A statement from Tuerk said FLEO Investigations is not a vendor in the city’s payment system.

“I am not concerned at this time about whether I will be paid for my services. I am focused on what is best for the city of Allentown and hope to provide complete and thorough findings and recommendations to help the city move forward in a positive direction,” Curtis said.

The City Council resolution, which will be voted on Wednesday night, would “authorize the expenditure of $20,000 to retain litigation counsel to pursue any appropriate and legal remedies determined by the City Council against the Mayor and/or the Administration and to declare the engagement agreement with FLEO Investigations LLC valid and legally enforceable.”

The city council meets on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the city hall.