Dauphin County Courthouse
Harrisburg’s mayor and City Council have come to an agreement following a legal battle over who holds which powers.
Council and Mayor Wanda Williams on Tuesday filed a joint motion to reopen the case, in which Williams sued council for defunding several top city positions, and to adopt a joint stipulation that will refund several roles.
Williams filed a civil suit against council in early January, alleging that council was acting outside of its jurisdiction when, as part of the 2026 budget, it defunded the city business administrator role, the project director for business administration/LERTA and the police bureau’s director of community engagement and relations. They also partially defunded the director of building and housing and economic development.
Last week, Dauphin County Judge Jeffrey Engle issued his order siding with council. Williams responded by saying she would appeal the decision.
However, a court filing submitted Tuesday evening showed that council and Williams requested that Engle reopen the case to approve a new agreement between the two parties.
As per the agreement, council would make reallocations in the 2026 budget to refund the business administrator and the project director for business administration/LERTA. They would also create and fund a new position, director of economic development.
The police bureau role would remain unfunded and the housing director’s salary reduced.
Additionally, the stipulation states that the mayor and council should honor each other’s role in appointing and approving city directors. The mayor will also need to appoint a successor to fill the business administrator role, subject to council’s approval.
As per the filing, Williams may no longer appoint “interim” directors, a practice that council said circumvented their authority to approve of director appointees. As part of their reasoning for defunding the business administrator, Sam Sulkosky, and partially defunding the housing director, Gloria Martin Roberts, roles, council said that both “interim” directors had remained in the roles without council approval. Currently, the city code states that council must approve department heads within 120 days of their hiring. Both parties agreed to follow that.
The filing states that Williams and council “wish to avoid a costly and time-consuming appeal, especially given the serious economic challenges facing the City of Harrisburg and its residents.”
Engle still needs to issue his decision on the joint motion.
While both parties have reached an agreement, council must reallocate funds to refund the positions. Their next legislative session is tonight at 6 p.m.
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