5 Berks Towns Weigh 2027 Budgets; Windsor Eyes 0.6 Mills

Five Berks County governments take up 2027 money questions tonight, Tuesday, Nov. 10, a day after four others met on advertising theirs. Windsor Township's is the only agenda with a rate-fixing resolution, setting 2027 taxes "with no tax increase at 0.6 mills." Wernersville's budget workshop puts a number on the ambulance tax council floated last week, 0.5 mill. Perry and Upper Tulpehocken townships move their budgets a step without posting them, and Longswamp Township, which had a budget workshop on its calendar, posted an agenda with no budget item.

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value; our rate table compares every Berks municipality.

Windsor Township: a budget, a rate, a Walmart plan

Windsor's supervisors meet at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 110 Haas Rd., Hamburg, per the 2026 meeting notice on the township's agendas page. Under new business, the agenda lists "Adopt the 2027 Preliminary Budget," authorizing advertising of that budget "and Year End Close Out Meeting for December 28th," and "Adopt Resolution 2027-11, Fixing the Tax Rate for 2027 with no tax increase at 0.6 mills." That is the current rate: the county's 2026 tax table lists Windsor at 0.0006000.

No 2027 budget is posted. The township's only budget file is a 2026 spreadsheet posted Nov. 16, 2025, and the minutes of the Sept. 26 special meeting, posted since our October preview, say only "Proposed budget numbers reviewed." They also record Resolution 2026-10, backing a Local Share Account grant application for an F-550 dump and plow truck "at price of $132,143," and the Sept. 8 minutes say "Budget will be finalized and advertised." The Oct. 13 minutes, up for approval tonight with those of an Oct. 31 workshop, are not on the minutes page, so the fate of Union Fire Co. No. 1's October request to be first response on every township fire call is still not public.

Fire funding is the budget's live question. The Sept. 26 minutes record "Discussion regarding percentage of township coverage provided by Hamburg and Virginville Fire Companies and how funds will be distributed," and tonight's agenda keeps its standing fire services line pairing Hamburg Fire and Virginville Fire. Perry Township's Oct. 13 minutes record Jarrod Emes, who gives the township's "EMC" report, copying Perry's supervisors on "an email to Windsor Township regarding the concerns with the status of Virginville Fire" and describing "the abrupt mass resignation at Virginville Fire Company."

The land development report carries plans the Planning Commission's Oct. 20 agenda gave a Nov. 10 board deadline: conditional final approval for the Dwyer subdivision, conditional approval for the Faller subdivision, and, for "Walmart Preliminary & Consolidation," a recommendation that the board "waive preliminary plan submission and accept final plan submission." Perry Township's Planning Commission minutes from Sept. 2 describe the project: trailer parking at 29 Ludwig Court, "also in Windsor Township," with "160 additional trailer parking" spaces, a fire pump, hydrants and a consolidation of two lots totaling 100 acres.

Wernersville: a half-mill EMS tax gets a number

Wernersville Borough Council's budget workshop starts at 4:30 p.m., per the homepage notice and the agenda, neither of which names a place; the borough's council page says council meets at Borough Hall, 100 North Reber Street, and the Nov. 6 legal ad noted in our Nov. 4 preview's update put this workshop there. Last Wednesday's agenda asked "Tax increase?" and said an EMS tax "must be a millage," as our Nov. 4 preview reported. Tonight's agenda reads "Discuss EMS Tax (proposed .5 mill)" and "Discuss raising Borough Tax (currently 5.7 mills)."

Half a mill is the most a borough may levy for ambulance and rescue service without a referendum under Section 1302(a)(9) of the Borough Code. At that rate a property assessed at $100,000 would pay $50 a year, the same as the current $50 flat charge per parcel; a $200,000 assessment would pay $100.

The spending list repeats last week's items, council room furniture and sound system "(approx.. $32,000), if not covered by Grant" and office PCs at about $7,000, and adds new council room chairs and the Alltemp heat exchanger quote of $7,545, which sat elsewhere on the Nov. 4 agenda. Item 6 is to "Choose date for Mid-late December for Special meeting to Adopt the 2027 Budget." The next regular meeting is Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. No minutes from the Oct. 22 workshop or the Nov. 4 meeting are posted; the newest on the council page are from Sept. 2, so what council decided last week about taxes is not on the record.

Upper Tulpehocken: a budget draft and a data-center ordinance

Upper Tulpehocken's supervisors meet at 6 p.m. at the municipal office, 6501 Old Route 22, Bernville, per the township's meetings page. The agenda lists "Data Center Ordinance," "Berks DES Radio upgrade," "2027 Budget Draft" and "Tax Collector" under old business, and "Meeting Dates 2027" and "Resolution 2026-17 LSA Grant Single Axle Truck" under new.

The board scheduled a budget review for 3 p.m. Oct. 27, and that meeting's agenda ran through each fund, with "Real Estate Tax Rate," "Sewer Monthly Rental Rate," recycling "Annual rates" and "Street Light Tax Rate" as sub-items and a fire company apparatus fund line for the "Radio refresh." No figures appear. The township's Budgets folder on eCode360 still tops out at "2026 Budget final," and its newest minutes are from Sept. 8, so neither October meeting has a posted record. The taxes page puts the 2026 municipal rate at 1.6 mills plus a 0.9-mill street light district tax.

The data-center ordinance has sat under old business since August. The Sept. 8 minutes record a second round of changes to the draft's setbacks before it went to the township and county planning commissions, as our tracker notes; no draft text or hearing notice is posted. The Oct. 13 agenda listed Resolution 2026-17 as "Berks County Radio Refresh" among ten LSA grant resolutions; tonight's agenda attaches 2026-17 to a single-axle truck. LSA grants are gaming revenue distributed through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, per DCED.

The engineer's list includes "Pinnacle Realty Development Co," the travel center case a court sent back to the board, whose Oct. 13 remand hearing has no posted outcome, and "Core5 Development/ Sewer lines."

Perry Township: a budget ad, fire money, the Walmart lots

Perry's supervisors meet at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 680 Moselem Springs Road, Shoemakersville; the homepage posts Zoom meeting ID 771 709 3648, password 19555, or 929-205-6099 by phone. The scanned agenda lists "2027 Preliminary Budget Advertisement" and "2027 Meeting Dates and Times Advertisement" after "2026 EMS Tax Disbursement- Executive Session" and "2026 VFRA Disbursement." VFRA money is state aid for a volunteer firefighters' relief association, funded by a 2 percent tax on fire insurance sold by out-of-state insurers and passed through municipalities, per the Auditor General.

No budget is posted on the township's meetings or documents pages; the Nov. 2 committee agenda listed "2027 Preliminary Budget Review" with nothing attached. Perry's 2026 rate is 0.25 mills in the county table.

The unofficial Oct. 13 minutes, up for approval, show the pressure on fire spending. Fire Chief Rusty Wagner said replacing roughly 40 radios would cost around $250,000. Emes said Shoemakersville Fire is the township's primary provider and argued for refocusing funding on it.

The engineer's report brings the Walmart lot consolidation and trailer-lot plans for waivers and plan consideration, and "Glen-Gery- Flashing Device Removal," unexplained on the agenda. Glen-Gery's Tract A subdivision, "3 warehouses" per the planning commission's September minutes, got conditional final approval Oct. 13 with a $5,000 deed-recording security. Perry adopted its data-center ordinance in September; it is not on tonight's agenda.

Longswamp Township: a roller, a hearing, no budget line

Longswamp's supervisors meet at 7 p.m. at 1112 State St., Mertztown, in the lower-level meeting room, per the agenda, which opens with a conditional use hearing for Erin Benner, 1204 State Street. The Oct. 13 amended agenda and the Oct. 27 notice both listed tonight's regular meeting at 6 p.m.; tonight's agenda says 7 p.m. The township's meeting schedule lists 2026 budget workshops at 6 p.m. on Nov. 10 and Nov. 24, and the Oct. 27 cancellation notice showed a Nov. 10 budget meeting at 6 p.m. Tonight's agenda carries no budget item. The budget page says the budget "is tentatively approved during one of the Board of Supervisors Meetings held in November" and adopted in December; it posts nothing for 2027.

The solicitor's report includes "Resolution No. 2026-___ Approving Intergovernmental Agreement for purchase of Bomag Roller," deferred from Oct. 27. The partners have moved: Topton's Nov. 2 agenda listed Resolution 21-2026 for the agreement, Rockland's Monday agenda carried Resolution 2026-13, and Hereford approved a $15,000 share Sept. 1 of a used roller estimated at $55,000 split four ways, per our Hereford and Rockland recaps. Longswamp's solicitor said in September the purchase would still need to be bid, per our October preview.

Also listed: a "Municipal Maintenance Building Status Update," the project for which the Oct. 13 agenda sought authority to seek lender proposals and advertise a debt ordinance; an "MVMHP Security Release recommendation"; the "Topton well construction project"; and a "Topton Ambulance Radio Upgrade." The Oct. 13 minutes are up for approval and not posted; the agendas page ends at Sept. 22. The next meeting is Nov. 24 at 6 p.m.

How to comment

Each agenda has a public comment period: Windsor and Perry list one near the start and one near the end, Longswamp separates agenda and non-agenda comments, Upper Tulpehocken allows four minutes per speaker, and Wernersville's workshop lists "Visitors/Public Comment" as item 3. Wernersville asks residents who want a spot on a council agenda to call 610-678-1486 by noon the Monday before. Windsor's office is at 610-562-3769, Perry's at 610-562-2133, Upper Tulpehocken's at 610-488-7170 and Longswamp's at 610-682-7388. Our guide covers finding any Berks meeting schedule.