Harrisburg City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Harrisburg budget workshops usually take multiple hours and several meetings for City Council to discuss.
But Tuesday’s discussion only took a few minutes.
At the work session, city Solicitor Neil Grover explained that the administration proposed a placeholder budget, with no property tax increase, in anticipation of Mayor-elect Wanda Williams reopening and amending the budget after she’s sworn into office next month.
If approved by council, Harrisburg will adopt a 2022 budget that is essentially the same as the 2021 budget, with the general fund amount totaling $79.2 million.
But the budget may change next year when Williams takes office and presents council with a new budget. The final 2022 budget must be adopted by Feb 15.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse was not in attendance to present the budget, as he has in years past.
“We are just doing this to make sure we can carry forward and pay our bills and pay salaries in the early part of January,” council vice president Ben Allatt said. “This is a standard practice within a changing administration.”
Additionally, council discussed the 2022-2025 Basic Labor Agreement between the city and the local labor union for city employees, Local 521, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 90. This includes most non-uniform and non-managerial city employees.
Under the contract, AFSCME workers would receive 3% raises each year for the next four years. They would also receive a $3,000 bonus in 2022, $1,500 in 2023 and $1,000 in each of the following two years.
Williams, currently the council president, voiced concern about the contract being finalized before Harrisburg’s budget and how that could affect raises for employees.
“I just don’t want January to come, and you have 100-plus employees who you promised a 3% raise, and I find that I don’t have enough money to pay that,” Williams said. “I don’t have a budget that was done for me. Now, I have to do a budget.”
According to the administration, the raises and bonuses were brought to Harrisburg’s finance office and found to be feasible.
Also on the table is a bill that would establish procedures for public contracting within the city. The bill would make certain certifications required for contractors, such as certified apprenticeship programs, and bolster review procedures.
In other council action, members discussed a proposal for the development of a mixed-use building in Midtown that includes 12 apartment units and a community center. The plan also includes building eight townhouses. The development would take place on the 1600-block of N. 3rd and Logan streets.
The project, led by developers Chris and Eric Bryce, along with Harrisburg Commercial Interiors, represents a portion of a planned multi-phase development in the Midtown area. The team has been selected by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority to complete both the unfinished Capitol Heights and MarketPlace developments on both sides of Reily Street.
When council questioned whether they would incorporate affordable housing into their project, Matt Long of Harrisburg Commercial Interiors said that they are still considering it for this phase. However, they already plan to include affordable apartments in the second phase, he said.
Williams wasn’t sold on that proposal.
“We can’t continue to keep putting people in apartment complexes,” she said. “They need to be single-family homes so children can have a yard. I don’t agree with this. My vote is no on this. I encourage development in the city, but I also want you to take into consideration the needs of the residents here.”
Long said that affordable townhomes would be part of later phases of the project.
Council expects to vote on the land development plan next week.
Lastly, four possible appointees to the Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board came before council, including James Hobbs, Matthew Pianka, Claude Phipps and Anna Bianco. Currently, the zoning board does not have a quorum.
City council will hold its next legislative session on Dec. 14.
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