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Council approves several personnel reclassifications, tables background analyst hires
Summary
Council approved multiple administrative corrections and HR reclassifications recommended in the budget memo (including a deputy director and an operations specialist) but tabled two proposed temporary background verification analyst positions pending job descriptions and further review; mayor's proposed chief-of-staff reclassification failed.
Allentown City Council approved a set of administrative corrections and personnel reclassifications in the mayor's budget memo but pushed back on some staffing proposals that members said lacked sufficient information.
After brief presentations from the administration and HR director Marty Velasquez, council approved a deputy director position and reclassification of a senior HR generalist to an operations specialist; administration said the reorganization follows recommendations from the Duane Morris review and will cost the city a net savings of about $3,176 for that line item.
The administration also proposed two temporary part-time background verification analyst positions budgeted at about $91,000 each (25 hours per week). Several council members objected to the cost, the timing and the lack of distributed job descriptions. Council member Zukul, a former police officer, said the background work historically has been performed by police staff and questioned outsourcing or creating expensive part-time roles for that function. Council members asked for job descriptions and additional information before approving those positions.
A motion to table the background-analyst amendment carried on a roll-call vote; the positions will return for consideration after council members have reviewed job descriptions and other documents.
Separately, the council rejected an administration request to reclassify an executive assistant in the mayor's office to chief of staff and upgrade a communications manager; the reclassification failed on a roll call after debate about parity and pay.
What happens next: the tabling of the background analyst positions requires administration to supply job descriptions and implementation details; the deputy director and HR reclassifications will be incorporated into the budget as adopted.
