ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Top-of-the-ticket races have dominated much of the local political discourse leading up to Tuesday’s election, with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lehigh Valley Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie both seeking second terms.
Residents throughout the region are being tasked with sending representatives to the state House and Senate. And in many municipalities, voters will see referendums.
Allentown residents are weighing a ballot initiative that would require businesses to provide paid sick time to employees.
If the referendum is approved, workers in the city would earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work starting Jan. 1. Employers would be allowed to offer faster rates of accrual.
The referendum would cap annual paid sick leave at 72 hours for businesses with 15 or more employees and at 48 hours for businesses with less than 15 employees. Businesses that offer that much paid sick leave to their employees at the start of each year would be exempt.
Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration voiced its opposition to the paid sick leave measure before council members signed off on the ballot question this summer, sending it to city voters.
A report by Keystone Research Center found the proposed mandate would expand paid sick leave to almost 10,000 more people in the city. That expansion would cost businesses about $520 per employee each year, a "modest cost relative to the size of the city’s economy," according to the report.
Other referendums
Voters throughout Lehigh County will face a decision about the Board of Elections, the independent body tasked with overseeing election administration.
Tom Shortell
The board now has three members who set policy decisions such as selecting which equipment to use, allowing or disallowing drop boxes and certifying election results. A member from each of the two largest parties are joined by the Lehigh County executive on the board.
But the referendum, if approved, would expand the board to five members: two Democrats, two Republicans and a third-party or unaffiliated voter.
In North Whitehall Township, voters are considering whether to use some of their earned income taxes for open-space preservation.
Approving the referendum would authorize the township’s board of supervisors to increase the EIT rate by 0.15%. That increase could be repealed after five years.
Other referendums in the Lehigh Valley include proposals that would allow Hanover Township Council members to attend meetings remotely, let Whitehall Township eliminate the treasurer position and appoint a finance director, and alter the county’s newspaper-advertisement requirements.