Special Council Meeting: Managing Director Nomination - March 25, 2026
Special Council Meeting: Managing Director Nomination - March 25, 2026
The Allentown City Council held a special meeting on March 25, 2026, from 6:30 PM to 7:05 PM, to consider and vote on the appointment of Frank Kane as the city's Managing Director. All seven council members (Cynthia Mota, Natalie Santos, Ce-Ce Gerlach, Candida Affa, Santo Napoli, Jeremy Binder, and Cristian Pungo) were present. The sole agenda item was Resolution #31248, approving the appointment. After presentations from Mayor Matt Tuerk and Frank Kane, followed by questions and comments, the council voted unanimously to approve the appointment.
Discussion Items
- Mayor Matt Tuerk introduced Frank Kane, emphasizing that Kane's experience in local government at Lehigh County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania made him the ideal candidate. Tuerk stated that the city's 900 employees and department heads would benefit from Kane's ability to connect and coordinate, and that Kane would strengthen the relationship between the administration and City Council. Tuerk also noted that Kane would be appointed Deputy Mayor upon confirmation.
- Frank Kane addressed the council, expressing gratitude for the warm reception from city staff and department heads. He outlined his management philosophy of service, transparency, and accountability, and stated his intention to conduct a process assessment of city operations to identify weak connections and improve processes. He highlighted his experience as Chief of Staff for Lehigh County and as Director of Community and Economic Development, and shared three personal attributes: a service-oriented management style, deep care for people, and a commitment to keeping Allentown in the news for positive reasons.
- Councilmember Jeremy Binder asked about Kane's goals for the first year. Kane responded by mentioning improvements to the budget process (starting earlier, involving council) and exploring the city's A2 bond rating, noting that the city exceeds GFOA standards and could potentially secure better rates by proactively communicating with bond raters.
- Councilmember Jeremy Binder also raised funding concerns, noting the position was previously funded at $1. He asked about the structural change needed to fund the Managing Director role. Finance Director Bina Patel explained that the 2026 budget would use vacancy savings from various departments, with future reorganizations likely to eliminate some positions to permanently fund the role. Mayor Tuerk added that reorganizations would be held until June to assess the budget picture, and that some existing positions would be eliminated.
- Councilmember Ce-Ce Gerlach asked about the organizational chart and the Executive Assistant position (confirmed as Michaela Boyer). She also asked about communication protocols between council and department heads. Mayor Tuerk clarified that council may ask informational questions directly to department heads but should not provide direction; he preferred that council channel questions through the Managing Director to avoid distracting department heads. Kane added that council could contact him anytime, including nights and weekends.
- Councilmember Candida Affa asked about constituent service (e.g., garbage issues) and whether to direct inquiries to Kane. Tuerk affirmed that Kane would be the preferred point of contact for triaging such issues.
- Councilmember Cristian Pungo asked about Kane's strengths and lessons learned from the county. Kane emphasized learning from accomplished people, providing value to others, and maintaining a calm, level-headed approach. He also noted his respect for front-line staff, such as Odemaris at the front desk.
- Councilmember Cynthia Mota offered a statement of support, praising Kane's resume and communication skills, and expressing excitement for the appointment.
- Councilmember Jeremy Binder asked about the charter regarding the mayor's absence. Tuerk explained that the city charter uses "absent" rather than "out of town," and that he appoints a Deputy Mayor during absences; currently Chief Roca, but Kane would be appointed upon confirmation.
- Councilmember Ce-Ce Gerlach asked about residency requirements. Tuerk noted that the managing director must relocate to Allentown within one year of appointment, but that the administration would ask council to amend that requirement. Kane mentioned he lives 4.2 miles from the Allentown border, meeting the current department head criteria.
- Council President Santo Napoli closed discussion by noting that Kane had effectively been "interviewed" over the years through his work at the county, and that the hire was a positive step for city-county collaboration.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous vote (7-0) to approve Resolution #31248, appointing Frank Kane as Managing Director of Allentown. Voting yes: Cynthia Mota, Natalie Santos, Ce-Ce Gerlach, Candida Affa, Santo Napoli, Jeremy Binder, and Cristian Pungo.
- Funding plan: The position will be funded in 2026 through vacancy savings in the mayor's budget, with future reorganizations expected to eliminate some positions to permanently fund the role. The administration will avoid using cash reserves.
- Deputy Mayor appointment: Mayor Tuerk stated that upon confirmation, Frank Kane would be appointed as Deputy Mayor, serving as the designee during the mayor's absence.
- Communication protocol: Council members were encouraged to direct questions through the Managing Director to avoid distracting department heads, though they retain the right to ask informational questions directly.
- Residency requirement: The administration intends to ask council to amend the residency requirement for the Managing Director, which currently requires relocation to Allentown within one year.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we're gonna kick off uh this special meeting and uh open the meeting and first ask um our clerk for a roll call, please. Uh here present. Uh here uh Ms. Moda. President uh Mr. President, everyone is here. Okay, great, thank you. So uh regarding the purpose of this meeting, uh tonight we're here to act on the appointment of Frank Kane as the city's managing director. Uh Mayor Turk, uh, you have the floor. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Um Torah Clark, can you read the resolution, please? Okay, resolution is R48, R48 is the appointment of Frank Kane as managing director. That's it. Very simple resolution. Thank you. Thank you, Council President Napoli. Thank you, uh, members of council. Um I'm gonna be brief because I want to let Frank do the bulk of the talking. But I really want to say two things. One, uh, why Frank. Um I've been mayor now for just over four years, and uh we've spent most of those four years without anybody in the managing director role, um, without anybody filling that particular position. And over the course of the past four years, I've spoken with each of you, many of you, about what we need in a position like a managing director. And I've gotten lots of different opinions, and I've had lots of different ideas myself. I've considered lots of different candidates, and every time that I had a discussion when I was engaged in that discussion, the person, the model that I was thinking about, what I wanted a person to do, I was thinking about Frank Cain. Um, I'm gonna let Frank introduce himself, but I can tell you why I chose him in brief, and that's because this is somebody who fundamentally understands what it means to serve in local government. Um his time at the county, as time at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has given him a pretty amazing education in how to uh do public service, and I'm really excited that uh events contrived to bring him here to us now. Um there's been lots, as I said, there's been lots of conversations about what what we need in a role and somebody who would fill this role over the years, but the time just hadn't been right to pick somebody. Uh again, a lot of good people who work in the city of Allentown who work around uh the Lehigh Valley, but uh nobody who quite brought everything that Frank is gonna bring. And that you know, to speak a little bit about the role, um Frank's primary responsibility, and he'll go into it in greater detail and give you his flavor of it. But his primary responsibility is going to be to help a phenomenal group of people. And that is the 900 people, the 900 or so people who work for the city of Allentown, who are public servants, but specifically uh the members of the cabinet, the people who direct our departments. So Frank will be working right alongside the people who are here today, uh Vicky Kessler and CED and Mark Schott in Public Works and Freddie Augusto and Fire, and folks like Chief Charles Roca and Mandy Tolino, who can't be with here with us, as well as all of our admin folks, Bina and Jerry and Marty. Um Frank's number one job is gonna be to help. Uh they're a phenomenal group of people. They do amazing work. They're each uniquely qualified to deliver on the positions that they fill that they hold. Um, but they like all of us can use that little boost. They can use that thing that connects them. And that's one of the things that Frank is gonna do. But there's another group of people that Frank is gonna be able to help out significantly with. Uh, and it's not the people in the mayor's office, he's gonna be helping us out a lot too, but it's you. Um Frank, I think if you've been paying attention to local government over the past 15 years, you probably haven't heard much out of the Lehigh County commissioners. Um, in part because of the job that I think Frank has done to engage and and work and develop a relationship between commissioners and the administration at Lehigh County. And I think that's one of the things that he's going to bring to this role is making sure that there's a strong connection between the administration of the city of Allentown and the City Council of the City of Allentown. Uh his primary job is gonna be to help us all, and that includes all of you. So uh I I really like Frank. I think he's the model for what we need in a position, and I think that his work is going to help us get to the next level at the city of Allentown. But I don't want to say any more. I want to uh let him say it himself.
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