Residents and former staff press Harrisburg council to probe solicitor's conduct and police reporting

Residents, a former assistant city solicitor and a former city employee used the public-comment period at a Harrisburg City Council meeting to urge oversight and investigations into the city solicitor’s conduct and the way police have handled complaints.

Robert Williams of the Keystone Accountability Project told the council he has filed a complaint and said the city solicitor’s advice led to expensive litigation. “I feel as though that the city solicitor has caused the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by his poor legal advice,” Williams said, and asked council to audit where money for outside counsel originated and whether proper appropriation procedures were followed.

Former city employee Tynica Moore said she was assaulted while on duty by a department head, was fired after reporting the incident, and has been unable to get the Harrisburg Police Department to take a report despite guidance from the district attorney’s office. Moore told council she will return to the district attorney if a police report is not taken “by the end of this month,” and asked council to press law enforcement to ensure the system works as it should.

Jonathan Luff, who said he served as assistant city solicitor and was terminated in late December, asked council to schedule an executive session so he could address what he described as procedural failures around his leave and termination and the hiring of outside counsel. “I am requesting that council schedule an executive session,” Luff said, and noted council has a limited 20-day window to initiate certain inquiries following a municipal employee’s termination.

Council members did not vote on any oversight measures during the meeting. An unidentified city official suggested that the public safety chair invite the police department to a public discussion about interagency protocols and that council could consider a resolution clarifying the city’s position on protecting residents regardless of immigration status; councilwoman Rawls and others said they would pursue follow-up through the public safety chair.

The exchanges during public comment included allegations about long-running billing and personnel disputes and requests for transparency about legal spending. Council did not take formal investigative action in the session; President Hill acknowledged the comments and the chair of public safety said she would follow up with the police department.

What happens next: speakers asked council to use its oversight powers — including an executive session where appropriate, audits of expenditures for outside counsel, and public requests for police to explain interagency protocols — and several promised to return to the DA or pursue other remedies if responses are not forthcoming.