The Reservoir Park bandshell was the venue for Tuesday’s town hall meeting.
After two virtual town hall meetings, Harrisburg City Council members met in Reservoir Park on Tuesday night to hear in person from residents concerned about a proposed police advisory board.
As in past meetings, several dozen residents expressed concerns and asked for changes to the proposed board, including how board members would be chosen.
“This bill that is being proposed for the people, is not by the people,” one resident stated, beginning the conversation.
As the proposed bill currently states, the mayor will appoint three community members to sit on the board and City Council will choose four.
Council member Westburn Majors explained that community members and organizations can make suggestions for board members and submit them to council.
However, that was not enough for some, who want to see Harrisburg residents have the power to vote people directly onto the proposed board.
“I’m sure people that get elected into this panel are really not going to be from our community and are not going to know our culture,” said Kevin Maxson, leader of the local activist group, Voices for the Voiceless.
Harrisburg school board Director Carrie Fowler added that people should have to run for election to be on the board.
“Every one of us here [on City Council] are from the city of Harrisburg and a majority of us are people of color,” said council member Ausha Green, who also is chair of council’s public safety committee. “So we know what is going on here. We aren’t here to try to play people.”
Green said that council will solicit the community’s input on who to appoint to the board. She added that the bill states that, of the seven board members, each will be from a different policing district in the city.
While other comments about the proposed bill, such as a desire for subpoena powers for the board, were brought up, many people brought to the microphone concerns over general policing in the city.
“It doesn’t make sense to invest in a broken system and not address the cause,” one woman said.
School board Director Jayne Buchwach brought up the idea of community policing, which would deploy more police to regularly patrol certain areas.
“If a neighborhood has recognizable police, police that are always there, I think it will help,” she said.
Another woman added how she wants to see the police responding faster to calls in her community.
Council members said they welcomed the feedback on the proposed police advisory board and will look to make amendments to the bill in the near future.
“This is a beginning, not an end point,” Majors said.
To watch all Harrisburg’s town hall meeting from Tuesday, visit their Facebook page.
