Human Relations Administration and Appointments Committees Meeting - January 28, 2026
Human Relations Administration and Appointments Committees Meeting - January 28, 2026
The committees of the Allentown City Council met on January 28, 2026, at 10:45 AM to consider Bill 3, hear departmental priorities from Human Resources, Information Technology, and the Controller's Office, and discuss related operations.
Discussion Items
-
Bill 3 – Bloomberg Philanthropies Grant (Love Your Block): The bill amends the 2026 grant fund budget to accept $50,000 in grant funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies through Johns Hopkins University for the Love Your Block program. HR Director Marty explained that the grant has been received for about two years, and this is not a matching grant; funds will be used for beautification projects (planting flowers, trees) and to pay a part-time fellow managing the program. Councilmember Ms. Patel asked about the percentage of the grant going to communities versus staffing; Marty did not have the exact number on hand but confirmed there is no stipulation on how funds must be used. Mr. Hanlon noted that last year's funds largely went to neighborhood awards, while this year appears to go to personnel—an allowable expense. The committee forwarded the bill unanimously to the full council.
-
Human Resources Priorities: Marty outlined key initiatives: filling staffing gaps, transitioning to a digital case management system, completing the Personnel Policy Manual (PPM) update (last updated in 2009), preparing for a systems transition in June/July 2026, and launching training programs (harassment and conflict resolution). He mentioned establishing subject matter experts within the department. Councilmembers asked about tuition reimbursement (now authorized with controls), affinity groups (Marty will explore with Kumari), and ongoing education opportunities for staff. Marty emphasized incorporating unconscious bias and microaggressions training into conflict resolution.
-
Information Technology Priorities: IT Director Jerry reported on technology modernization: upgrading servers, storage (1.4 petabytes capacity), and end-user hardware (laptops replaced every 5 years, desktops 6 years, cell phones 3 years). He highlighted shifting cybersecurity from reactive to proactive, completing the Munis-to-Tyler software transition by July 2026, launching an e-signature solution by mid-February, integrating permitting into Energy, and launching a public right-to-know application in Q1. He noted the need to modernize council chambers audio/video (cameras up to 15 years old) and add closed captioning to meet ADA requirements by April 2026. He also confirmed over 34,000 tax bills will be finalized and postmarked by Friday.
-
Controller's Office Priorities: Controller Jeff discussed monthly audit reports (payables, P cards, bank reconciliations), noting the P card process is laborious and a “time suck,” especially after bringing the garage in-house (adding 175–275 invoices per month). He cautioned that any future decision to bring solid waste collection in-house would require additional support. He described the internship program and a seminar for departments on February 11 or 17. He mentioned succession planning as his term nears its end in about two years. Councilmember Ms. Appa asked about minimizing invoice volume; Jeff suggested using monthly statements from vendors but acknowledged review time remains similar.
Key Outcomes
- Bill 3 was forwarded unanimously from the committee to the full City Council.
- All three department heads presented their priorities for 2026; no formal votes were taken on those items.
- Committee members will continue to follow up on specific requests (e.g., affinity groups, P card efficiency, training schedules).
Meeting Transcript
We want to get started with the Human Relations Administration and Appointments Committees. Mr. Hanlon, can you call the role? Ms. Santos. Ms. Appa here? Chair, everybody's here. Thank you. Bill 3? Bill 3 amends the 2026 grant fund budget to accept 50,000 in grant funding for the Uber philanthropies through John Hopkins University or the Love You Live grant. Does anyone from the administration want to elaborate? Care to elaborate. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Gotcha. Good evening. Good evening. So low, my block is uh Bloomberg uh philanthropy grant. This is um, I believe a year um two years and few months in uh that we have received this grant and uh every year we have received 50,000 and we anticipate uh receiving this for one more year. Um and this is just accepting the grant we are receiving from uh Bloomberg. And is is it a matching grant? No, this is not a matching grant. So we'll receive 50,000 up front. Okay. And we use this grant to um uh uh for certain blocks in the city. We have an employee that's being paid out of uh uh this grant as well. And uh so in the past what we have done um is that uh certain blocks we planted flowers, planted trees, had um uh uh what makes uh citizens feel uh welcome in their block makes them feel good living in their um uh uh on their block, and that's what uh this grant is for. Okay, and then out of the so this is the 50 out of 100 that's that was the total per for this year? Or I thought I thought I was reading earlier on that was 100,000 was the total for the year, but maybe I'm missing that. Um I think this is uh 50,000 now. We uh had received 50,000 before also, but twenty for 2026 is 50,000. Okay, so both of those 50 went were allocated towards a fellow, so they were for a staffing position. A fellow that's that's managing the program along with we had an employee that recently departed from the city, but uh she was overseeing that fellow and overseeing the grant program. Okay, and then out of the love your block grant, how what percentage of the actual grant went to communities versus staffing? Just so I understand. If you know, sorry. So staffing is it this fellow is uh as a part-time uh fellow, works less than 20 hours for the city. I I can get you the number. I don't have that in uh uh I I don't have that in front of me now. Okay. And then you're saying you're anticipating one more year of this? Yes, one more year of this grant. Okay. That's all the questions I have. Anyone? Yes, if I may, sir. I would beg to differ a little bit with Ms. Patel.
openpublica.com