ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A war of words over an investigation at Allentown City Hall seems destined for court.
City Council on Wednesday allocated $20,000 to hire legal counsel “to pursue any and all equitable and legal remedies against the mayor to enforce an agreement and enjoin any further obstruction of the investigation.”
Mayor Matt Tuerk this month told members he would not honor a contract for the long-mooted investigation, calling it “defective” and “void.”
“I don’t want to go to court; no one really wants to go to court. But we’ve got to go to court.”Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach
Several members made it clear they’d prefer to avoid litigation but see no other way to ensure the mayor cooperates — and pays the investigator.
“This is the only recourse that we’ve got,” Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach said Wednesday. “I don’t want to go to court; no one really wants to go to court. But we’ve got to go to court.”
She accused the mayor and his administration of putting up “roadblock after roadblock after roadblock.”
Council President Cynthia Mota said she’s ready to defend her colleagues with litigation if the city’s and the council’s solicitors cannot “come together.”
“There’s some allegations that we did something wrong, and we did not,” she said.
Strained relations
Tuerk and council have been at odds since members hired a former FBI special agent June 5 to examine allegations of racism and discrimination made by and against city employees.
Tensions escalated June 17 after Tuerk sent members a three-page memo in which he listed more than a dozen potential legal issues with the hiring process members used to select FLEO Investigations.
“Start over and do the process the right way."Allentown communications manager Genesis Ortega
FLEO Investigations is run by Scott Curtis, a former federal investigator who led the FBI‘s investigation into former Mayor Ed Pawlowski's pay-to-play contracting practices.
The many concerns in Tuerk’s memo include council members hiring Curtis after he failed with a previous bid to land the job and abandoning the initial hiring process.
A day after that memo, Gerlach declared “the investigation continues” and accused the mayor of placing “a roadblock” in the way of “every single attempt that we’ve made to start this investigation.”
Tuerk again Monday night hit out on the subject of the investigation and its process.
“Council’s efforts to smear me and this administration — to advance their own political agendas — are hurting our ability to serve residents and distracting us from addressing more pressing issues,” he said.
He said he fully supports the investigation but not “the improper and unlawful process” council used to select Curtis.
Genesis Ortega, communications manager for Tuerk’s administration, on Wednesday repeated Tuerk’s backing for the investigation.
But she challenged council members’ assertion that they have no alternative to court.
“Start over and do the process the right way,” Ortega said.
