ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When the Human Rights Campaign, a 40-year-old national organization that strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, released its 11th annual Municipal Equality Index this month, Allentown scored a 94.
For any city, that’s an enviable tally for rankings that examine whether municipal laws, policies and services are inclusive of LGBTQ people.
- Allentown scored a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index in 2020, but this year, the city scored a 94
- The lost points came from a section about reporting hate crimes statistics to the FBI
- Mayor Matt Tuerk said a score of 94 accurately reflected where the city is at with LGBTQ equality
- Neither Bethlehem nor Easton were scored in the index, but other nearby municipalities received lower scores than Allentown
Allentown’s score was much higher than the national average of 68.
Yet in 2020, Allentown got a 100 on the index.
So the question is: what changed?
The Municipal Equality Index
The Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index examines five categories: non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.
Municipalities receive a scorecard rating each category, resulting in a score out of 100.
The scorecard also includes “flex points” — points that cities can earn for implementing services that are not feasible for every municipality to provide. Those points do not count against a municipality’s score, but can improve it.
What lowered the score
The biggest difference between Allentown’s 2020 scorecard and its 2022 scorecard is that in 2020, Allentown got 12 points in the section titled “Reported 2018 Hate Crimes Statistics to the FBI.”
MEI 2022 Allentown Pennsylvania by LVNewsdotcom on Scribd
In 2022, the city got no points in that section.
Allentown sends reports on hate crimes statistics to the FBI through the state, and there currently are issues with the state reporting system, according to Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca.
Jared Todd, press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, said Allentown also could get more flex points to raise its overall score. Flex point categories include implementing youth bullying prevention policies, giving city support to LGBTQ older adults and providing services that specifically support the trans community.
Although Allentown’s score is not perfect, Todd said it is “extremely good,” considering that the national average score in 2022 was 68.
“The elected officials in Allentown are doing a great job in their policies and practices to uphold values of inclusion and equality in their city,” Todd said.
Todd also noted that the Human Rights Campaign added more categories to the scorecard after 2020, making it harder to get a perfect score. He said the organization did that to keep the index up-to-date with new inclusive policies and practices.
Mayor Tuerk’s reaction
When Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk saw that his city scored a 100 on the Municipal Equality Index in 2020, he was confused.
“I was like, ‘This doesn't sound right. It couldn't be possible that we have a perfect score,’” Tuerk said.
Tuerk, who came into office in 2022, said that in general, municipal officials can be hyperbolic when they answer the survey questions for scorecards, and the Human Rights Campaign can’t verify every single answer.
He said he thinks that may be why the score changed in Allentown.
“I don't know what their reporting looked like [for 2020], but we just made sure that in 2022, that we were reporting as openly and honestly as possible about the state of equality in the city,” Tuerk said.
Tuerk said he thinks a score of 94 is an accurate reflection on the state of equality in Allentown because there still is work that needs to be done.
“If we had a perfect score, it would imply that everything's great and we can just kind of hold the status quo and move ahead. It's just not true.”Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
“If we had a perfect score, it would imply that everything's great and we can just kind of hold the status quo and move ahead,” Tuerk said. “It's just not true.”
One change meant to improve equality in Allentown is the newly created position of Equity and Inclusion Coordinator. The city funded the new position in its 2023 budget, and Tuerk said he is currently working on the job description.
The coordinator will evaluate the city’s LGBTQ policies and recommended changes as needed.
Tuerk said the city also has trained its police officers to be better prepared to take reports of hate crimes and improve relationships with marginalized groups.
Tuerk said he is “not a huge fan” of scorecards in general because they tend to oversimplify issues. But he appreciates the Municipal Equality Index because it motivates cities to become more welcoming.
He said he hopes Allentown can score a 100 again one day.
“We'll continue to shoot for that perfect score, but we're not going to accept it until we actually feel like we're there,” Tuerk said.
Scores for other PA cities
Neither Bethlehem nor Easton were scored in the index.
Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh scored 100s on the index. Both cities got full points in the section for reporting hate crimes statistics to the FBI.
Reading’s score was 91. The city does not provide transgender-inclusive health care benefits to city employees and scored lower than Allentown on its pro-LGBTQ legislative efforts.
New Hope scored an 81. The borough does not have a city contractor non-discrimination ordinance or an LGBTQ+ liaison or task force in its police department.
Harrisburg’s score was 71. The city does not enforce its nondiscrimination ordinance through its human rights commission, does not have an LGBTQ+ liaison in the city executive’s office or its police department and does not report hate crimes statistics to the FBI.
Wilkes-Barre scored a 70. The city does not provide transgender-inclusive health care benefits to city employees, does not have an LGBTQ+ liaison in the police department and does not report hate crimes statistics to the FBI.
