Bernville Borough

Bernville Borough is the municipal government serving the residents of Bernville, a small borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Borough offices are located at 6602 Bernville Rd, Bernville, PA 19506, with mail directed to P.O. Box 40. The office can be reached at 484-769-8594. Borough Hall functions as both the administrative center and the meeting place for the governing body, its appointed boards and commissions.

Like most Pennsylvania boroughs, Bernville operates under the weak mayor form of government established by the Borough Code. Legislative authority rests with a seven-person Borough Council, while the mayor serves as a separately elected executive with defined duties. All council members and the mayor are elected at large to four-year terms by borough voters. Current officials include Mayor Wayne Lesher, Council President Dennis Baver and Council Vice-President Justin Kiebach. Brenda Strunk serves as Secretary/Treasurer and as the borough's Open Records Officer.

Borough Council and Public Meetings

Borough Council is the policy-making body for the municipality. Its powers include enacting ordinances, adopting resolutions, approving the annual budget, levying taxes, enforcing borough ordinances, approving expenditures and hiring borough employees. Council also appoints members to the borough's advisory and quasi-judicial boards.

Council holds regular session meetings and separate monthly workshop meetings, both beginning at 7:00 pm in the Borough Hall at 6602 Bernville Rd. For 2026, regular sessions are scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month, with workshop meetings held later in the same month. All meetings are open to the public in accordance with Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act, and residents who wish to raise an issue, ask a question about borough operations or comment on a pending ordinance are able to attend. Occasional changes to the meeting calendar, such as reschedules due to holidays or weather, are announced through the borough's online news section.

Ordinances, Resolutions and Public Records

Ordinances adopted by Council carry the force of local law and cover matters such as land use, property maintenance, public safety and administrative procedures. Resolutions address administrative and policy actions that do not require the formality of an ordinance. Current ordinances and resolutions are available for public review through the document search function on the borough website, allowing residents, contractors, real estate professionals and title researchers to locate relevant local regulations without visiting the office in person.

Records requests are handled under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. All requests must be submitted in writing using the standard Right-to-Know Law request form and directed to Open Records Officer Brenda Strunk at 6602 Bernville Rd or P.O. Box 40, Bernville, PA 19506. Requests may also be submitted by phone at 484-769-8594, by fax at 610-488-9500 or by email at Brenda@BernvilleBorough.org. The written form requirement helps document the request date and ensures that statutory response deadlines are tracked properly.

Taxes and Bill Payment

The borough administers municipal real estate taxation and several local taxes. For 2026, the municipal real estate rate is 5.69 mils.

Tax collection is handled by an elected Tax Collector, Deborah Craig, located at 169 E. Penn St., Bernville, and reachable at 610-488-6379. Her office is situated under the deck at the rear of the home, a detail worth noting for residents visiting in person for the first time.

Borough bills, separate from tax payments, may be paid in person at Borough Hall during office hours, which are held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Residents planning an in-person visit should confirm current hours by phone, as small municipal offices sometimes adjust schedules around holidays.

Zoning Hearing Board

The Zoning Hearing Board is a quasi-judicial body composed of three to five borough residents, chaired by Stephen Faust. The board hears variance requests based on claims of unnecessary hardship, decides applications for special exceptions permitted under the zoning ordinance, rules on challenges to the validity of the land use ordinance and hears appeals from determinations made by the Zoning Officer or Municipal Engineer. Property owners considering an addition, an accessory structure, a change of use or a project that does not conform to dimensional requirements typically interact with this board. Hearings follow formal procedural rules, including notice requirements and the opportunity for interested parties to testify.

Shade Tree Commission

The borough supports a Shade Tree Commission made up of as many as three resident members, chaired by Tom Vanzin. The commission promotes the planting and maintenance of healthy shade trees within public rights-of-way and works cooperatively with the borough on trees located in community parks. It meets quarterly at 7:00 pm at Borough Hall, with 2026 meeting dates set for February 5, May 7, August 6 and November 5. Residents with questions about street trees, removals, replacement plantings or species selection can bring those matters to the commission.

Public Safety

Under the Borough Code, the mayor directs the activities of the police department, preserves order in the borough and reports to Council monthly on police activity. The mayor also holds veto authority over ordinances adopted by Council. For emergencies, residents should dial 911. The non-emergency police number is (610) 378-4011, and the non-emergency fire number is (610) 488-6592.

Community Information and Civic Participation

The borough maintains an online community calendar and a news section used to publish public notices and announcements. Past postings have included meeting reschedules, sealed bid sales of surplus municipal property such as a 2020 Ford F-150 police truck, and notices of vacant council seats. Candidates for an appointed council vacancy must meet the residency requirement of at least one full year of residence in the borough.

The mayor is additionally authorized to perform marriage ceremonies and to administer oaths and affirmations in matters relating to borough affairs, a function occasionally of interest to couples seeking a civil ceremony locally.

Visiting and Contacting the Borough

Bernville Borough serves a compact community in western Berks County, and its offices function as the central point of contact for zoning questions, tax matters, records requests, bill payment and general municipal business. Residents, property owners and businesses can reach the office at 484-769-8594 or visit 6602 Bernville Rd during posted office hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.