Dauphin County Courthouse
Harrisburg City Council has withdrawn a motion attempting to hold Mayor Wanda Williams in contempt of court.
On Wednesday, council made a motion to withdraw the contempt motion, following a Tuesday meeting where council confirmed a city director in her role, previously claiming Williams was in violation of the law for not allowing council to vote on the staffer.
At Tuesday’s legislative session, council voted 4-3 to keep Gloria Martin-Roberts, director of building and housing development, in her role. Council filed the contempt motion against Williams last week, saying that Williams had kept Martin-Roberts on staff since 2024 in an “interim” role, without council approval.
Council and the mayor had recently come to a legal agreement that included ending the practice of appointing “interim” directors instead of “acting” department heads to circumvent council’s approval. The mayor is required to bring “acting” directors to council for approval within 120 days.
The legal agreement followed a lawsuit by Williams against council, claiming the body acting outside of its power by defunding several top roles in the 2026 budget.
Although council President Danielle Hill and Vice President Lamont Jones opposed keeping Martin-Roberts on staff, voicing their frustration Tuesday, other council members decided to keep her on.
Council member Ausha Green told TheBurg that she agreed that Williams should have brought Martin-Roberts before council for approval, but said that ousting Martin-Roberts would be punishing the wrong person.
Since Martin-Roberts has now officially received council approval, she will take on a permanent department head role.
Therefore, council asked Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Engle to withdraw its contempt motion or consider it moot.
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