HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
Harrisburg City Council members voted 4-2 Tuesday night to hire an attorney to assist them in fighting a proposed takeover by the state.
Councilwoman Wanda Williams proposed hiring Montgomery County attorney Mark Schwartz.
"I'm tired of being called names," Williams said. "I'm tired of being called incompetent. So now let's see if this works for us, if we can have someone who is competent enough to advise us what we need to do and what action we need to take next."
Williams reminded everyone that the state took over the city's school district several years ago.
"To this day, the city of Harrisburg School District is horrible," Williams said. "It's a fiasco. It is $310 million dollars in debt."
Councilman Kelly Summerford took exception to the fact that he was not clued in to what was going on before the meeting.
"I have a telephone," Summerford said. "I also have e-mail. Someone could have let me know that this is what you were planning to do. I think once again it appears that certain people are meeting and know certain information and other council members do not know."
Earlier in the day, Mayor Linda Thompson said she would try to arrange a third vote on her financial recovery plan, even though council members have rejected it twice by a 4-3 vote.
"I want to avoid the need for this process," Thompson said. "I will request a meeting immediately with city council members to address my plan one more time. This is our last, best chance to maintain the elected will of the citizens of this city before handing over the process to the new recovery legislation."
Council members didn't address the mayor's proposal Tuesday night, but several of them did talk about the harsh comments she made about individual council members, and the council as a group, during her first town hall meeting last week.
"In a leadership role, you're supposed to show restraint and professionalism," councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said. "You're supposed to be able to build bridges and not tear them down, and what I found in listening to some of her comments, they seem to be inflammatory and derogatory and it borders on even a potential lawsuit."
