Harrisburg council delays vote on Environmental Advisory Council appointment pending 10-day financial disclosure

Harrisburg City Council members discussed Resolution 18 of 2025, which would appoint Cheyenne Johnson to the city’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), and kept the measure in committee until a required statement of financial interest has been on file for 10 days.

Cheyenne Johnson introduced herself to the administration committee as a Harrisburg native who attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and said she works as “a commercial appraisal trainee for Rittenhouse Appraisals.” Johnson told council she has led local cleanups with Harrisburg Young Professionals and volunteers in the Uptown Harrisburg neighborhood and around family homes on Berry Hill Street.

The committee noted the appointment would run from April 8, 2025, to April 7, 2028, and reviewed the council’s statutory framework for the EAC. As presented by the presiding officer, the council referenced ordinance number 6 of 02/2018 and section 2-509.2 of the codified ordinances, which set the EAC as a seven-member volunteer body with three mayoral and four council appointments; members must be Harrisburg residents.

Council members asked Johnson about conflicts of interest; Johnson replied she did not anticipate any. The presiding officer noted that state/local filing rules require a statement of financial interest be on file for 10 days before action can be taken. Johnson said she had completed the physical form and returned it to a staff member identified in the meeting; because the 10-day period had not yet elapsed, the committee left Resolution 18 in committee pending that timeline.

No formal vote to confirm the appointment occurred at the work session. The administration committee’s action was procedural: postponing formal action until the disclosure requirement is satisfied.

Council members who spoke during the discussion thanked Johnson for volunteering and for her willingness to learn about council processes.