Allentown reviews Community and Economic Development budgets; staff cite efficiencies, grant timing and housing program trade-offs

Allentown City Council staff on Monday reviewed detailed budgets for the Department of Community and Economic Development, saying most changes reflect contractual salary and benefit adjustments while highlighting several program successes and outstanding implementation challenges.

The department overview covered business support, planning and zoning, building standards and safety, rental registration, federal grants and community housing programs. Dan, a program staff member, said, “Currently, the 2025 program … has an enrollment of 33 businesses,” referring to the SPARK small-business support initiative that provides legal, marketing, website and financial assistance.

The council was told staff have shifted portions of several positions onto grant funding to limit general-fund pressure and that the director’s budget shows only small net changes. Planning and zoning will focus on implementing the recently passed zoning code and completing a fee study; Miss Gomez, the planning director, and staff reported a recent HARB outreach meeting that drew more than 50 attendees.

The building standards and safety presentation credited Heidi Westerman, director of building standards and safety, with several operational changes: implementing the EnerGov permitting system, rewriting permitting processes, and consolidating inspector duties into…