4 Berks Towns Vote Monday to Advertise 2027 Budgets

Four Berks County governments vote Monday, Nov. 9, on sending their proposed 2027 budgets out for advertising, and a fifth, Spring Township, holds a budget review the same night. None of the five has posted a 2027 budget. Rockland Township's agenda is the only one that says anything about taxes: its motion approves the budget "with no proposed tax increases." Richmond Township, Douglass Township and Laureldale Borough list the budget as an agenda line with nothing attached, and Spring's agenda carries no advertising motion at all.

Monday's votes are the first of two steps. Rockland's budget page describes the sequence: to meet state advertising and notice requirements, "the budget is tentatively approved during the November Board of Supervisors meeting, with final approval and adoption at the December Board of Supervisors meeting." Only Rockland's agenda names its adoption date.

Rockland Township: no tax increase, a shared roller, a sewer appeal

Rockland's supervisors meet at 7 p.m. Monday, per the 2026 meeting schedule, at the Rockland Township Municipal Building, 41 Deysher Road, Fleetwood, the building named in the Sept. 14 minutes and in the township's Oct. 31 notice for its Nov. 5 budget meeting. The agenda, a two-page scan on the township homepage, lists a "Motion to approve the proposed 2027 budget (with no proposed tax increases) for advertising for consideration for adoption at the 12/14/2026 meeting." The budget itself is not online. The Nov. 5 budget meeting agenda said the general fund discussion would cover "fire company and EMC radio upgrade expenses & 2027 salary/rate increases," with no figures. Minutes from Oct. 12, Oct. 21 and Nov. 5 are up for approval Monday, and none is posted; the newest on the minutes page are from Sept. 14.

Resolution 2026-13 approves an "Inter-Municipal Cooperation Agreement with Longswamp Township, Hereford Township and Borough of Topton for the Purchase and Sharing of 2018 Bomag Drum Roller." As our September recap reported from the Sept. 14 minutes, Rockland approved its roughly $15,000 share of a used roller estimated at $55,000 split four ways. Longswamp Township canceled its Oct. 27 meeting and tabled the roller co-op resolution to Nov. 10, per the notice it posted Oct. 14, as our Longswamp preview reported. Monday's agenda prints no price.

An "Act 537 Plan Update" authorizes the solicitor "to request a continuance of stay of appeal beyond December 18, 2026." The township's Act 537 plan, its state-required sewage plan, has been in litigation; our September recap noted executive sessions on it. The agenda does not say what appeal is stayed or who filed it.

Also listed: a note that Hereford Township sold the old co-op line painter on Municibid for $2,900, and Melissa Hartman of the Brandywine Community Library, who asked in September for $9,115 in 2027. The joint workshop with the Planning Commission is Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.

Richmond Township: a budget discussion and a fire truck payment

Richmond's supervisors meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the municipal building, per the township's agenda and minutes page; the homepage gives the address as 11 Kehl Drive, Fleetwood. The agenda is a Google Drive file the township links as "View our Current Agenda" and replaces each month. Item 7 under new business reads "Discuss preliminary 2027 Budget and approve advertising." No budget document is posted, and the agenda names no adoption date. The October minutes are not posted either; the township page links a video of the Oct. 12 meeting, and the newest minutes are from Sept. 14.

Under the Virginville Fire Company report is a "Motion to approve truck payment of $20,978.37." The agenda does not say what truck or whether this is one installment of a larger loan. The roadmaster's report has a "Motion to approve the sale of our 2018 Freightliner to Maxatawny Township," with no price.

The board will "Discuss Planning Commission opening," the same vacancy on October's agenda. Public comment is limited to five minutes per person per session.

Douglass Township: a budget and a sewer loan closing

Douglass's supervisors meet at 7 p.m. Monday, per the 2026 meeting dates page, which puts the township office at 1068 Douglass Drive, Boyertown, but prints no meeting location. The agenda, under the manager's report, asks the board to "advertise the proposed 2027 budget for adoption." The board held a budget workshop Sept. 28 whose agenda's only business line was "Discuss the 2027 Proposed Budget." The township's budget page posts budgets from 2008 through 2026 and nothing for 2027. The last meeting on the 2026 schedule is Dec. 14; the agenda does not say when adoption would come.

The same report asks for "a motion authorizing the Township to sign the Sewer loan closing documents." The process began Sept. 14, when the agenda asked the board to "authorize PFM to move forward with securing proposals for loans for the Douglass Sewer payment to Amity Twp," and continued Oct. 12, when the agenda listed "PFM Sewer Loan-Jamie Schlesinger and Peter Edelman" and a motion "to adopt Ordinance 2026-02 General Obligation Note Issuance," that is, a loan backed by the township's taxing power. None of the three agendas states the amount, the lender or the term. Two Reading Eagle legal notices indexed on publicnoticepa.com supply one step: an Oct. 7 notice of a meeting "for the purpose of consideration of proposed ordinance authorizing the incurrence of nonelectoral debt," borrowing approved by the board rather than by referendum, and an Oct. 14 notice that the board "at a meeting held on October 12, 2026, finally enacted an ordinance." The full text of both notices, where the maximum amount would appear, sits behind the site's challenge page, and the township website posts neither the ordinance nor any minutes. Monday's agenda lists the Sept. 14 minutes for approval, which the Oct. 12 agenda already did; October's are not listed.

Also on the agenda: Resolution 2026-24, a traffic signal maintenance agreement; Resolution 2026-25, final approval of an "Annexation Plan" for 48 Quarry Road; authorizing the township engineer "to advertise the 2027 Roadwork project"; and a presentation by Boyertown Library Director Sami Jo Trout.

Laureldale: a budget, a collapsed road and a special counsel

Laureldale Borough Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday at Borough Hall, 3406 Kutztown Road, per the borough calendar and contact page. The agenda, a Word file linked from the meetings page, lists "Motion to advertise the 2027 budget" under Councillor Hess's finance report. No budget is posted and no adoption date is given.

Two resolutions concern Elizabeth Avenue. Resolution 2026-04 applies for a state Local Share Account grant, a program DCED says distributes gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, for "the Elizabeth Ave and Raymond Street storm sewer repair project"; the Nov. 2 workshop agenda noted, "We must apply by November 30th." Resolution 2026-05 retains a contractor for "emergency repair work on Elizabeth Ave to repair the unforeseen collapsed section of road due to an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare, bypassing standard bidding and advertising requirements." The agenda names no contractor and no cost.

Finance also brings Planning Commission-recommended waivers from the subdivision and stormwater ordinances for "the Muhlenberg School District Phase 5 Land Development Project" and from the subdivision ordinance for "the Yuasa Battery, Inc. building addition project." October bills were $288,418.93 from the general fund and $30,080.65 from the sewer fund. The night ends with an executive session on "a personnel/legal issue" and a "Motion to retain Siana Law as special legal counsel regarding a personnel matter," which the agenda does not connect to any named person. The workshop agenda recorded that "Officer Tom Link is resigned effective 10/31/2026"; our October recap noted his letter of intent to retire.

Spring Township: budget review, a police accreditation exit, Broadcast District

Spring's supervisors open their "Budget & Regular Meeting" with budget review at 5:30 p.m. Monday at 2850 Windmill Road, Sinking Spring, per the agenda and board page; the Nov. 5 and Oct. 26 agendas and the Oct. 13 minutes put the regular meeting at 7 p.m., though Monday's agenda prints only 5:30. A Microsoft Teams link is printed on the agenda. Item IV is "Budget Review," with nothing attached, and no motion to advertise appears. No 2027 budget is posted. The Oct. 13 minutes say only that Manager John Groller "reviewed proposed 2027 budget numbers and budget requests for several Township Departments." The Nov. 5 budget meeting had a bare "Budget Review" agenda and no posted minutes, and the Oct. 26 minutes, up for approval Monday, are not posted either.

Under the police department is an "Authorization to withdraw from the PLEAC accreditation process and instead contract with Daigle Law Group." PLEAC is the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, the panel of police chiefs that grants accreditation under the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association's program. The association's accredited agencies list shows Spring Township Police accredited on March 25, 2006, and its enrolled agencies list marks Spring as one of three accredited Berks departments, with Exeter and Hamburg. Daigle Law Group describes itself as a law firm that "specializes in management consulting services to support and develop effective and constitutional policing practices" and markets "internal affairs, accreditation, background investigations, and police training programs." The agenda gives no reason, cost or contract term.

Item 6 is "Authorization to Release Financial Security #5 – Broadcast District." The project is the roughly $350 million retail, housing and hotel development off Broadcasting Road covered in our Broadcast District report; the board took up a PennDOT maintenance resolution for it Oct. 26, as our preview reported. Item 7 is a "Preliminary Site Design Proposal for Werner Farm Building," which the agenda does not explain and the Oct. 13 minutes do not mention.

Also listed: a plan scale waiver for the West Lawn Quoiting Association, tabled Oct. 13 because two of the four supervisors present are association members, per the minutes, and carried on the Oct. 26 agenda. The board page lists further meetings Nov. 23, Dec. 14 and Dec. 23.

How to follow up

All five take public comment at the meeting. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule.