City employees tell Lancaster council they faced harassment, call for accountability

Two city employees reported to the Lancaster City Council during public comment that they had experienced harassment and intimidation by police command staff and urged the council to ensure accountability.

Melissa Iser, introduced in the meeting as the IT director, told the council: “No employee in the city of Lancaster should be subjected to harassment, intimidation, bullying, discrimination.” She said the behavior had occurred “on more than one occasion” and that prior reports to administration and HR had not led to corrective action.

Kendra Maloney, who identified herself as a city employee with 12 years’ service and described a recent move from the police department into the IT department, said she left the police department because she “could no longer continue working in a hostile working environment.” She told the council she had reported the conduct to HR multiple times “and nothing was done about it.”

Council members listened during the public-comment period but did not take immediate formal action on the floor. The speakers framed their remarks as requests for accountability and for the council to ensure HR investigations are completed and produce appropriate outcomes.

The meeting moved on after the public-comment period to a county presentation and the council’s regular agenda. Any follow-up — whether the council requests a personnel briefing in closed session, directs staff to provide an update from HR, or requests an interim status report — was not recorded in the publicly posted portions of the meeting transcript.