Brecknock Township Votes on 2027 Tax Rate, $225,900 Loader

The Brecknock Township supervisors take up Wednesday the resolution that sets the township's 2027 property tax rate, after two budget workshops whose numbers are not posted online. The agenda for the Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. meeting at the municipal building, 889 Alleghenyville Road, Mohnton, lists a "Tax Levy Resolution" and "Budget – Unfinished business" under new business, along with a $225,900 state grant application for a wheel loader, a public hearing on adding about 103 acres of farmland to the township's Agricultural Security Area, two hires and a pole-barn variance request. The agenda went up Monday evening on the township homepage, which carries the meeting notice.

The tax rate, with no number yet

The agenda gives no rate and no budget figures. Neither did the one-page agenda for the Oct. 29 budget workshop, which listed only "Discussion and review of 2027 proposed budget." The township's meeting-minutes page ends with the Sept. 1 regular meeting. The minutes of the Oct. 14 regular meeting and of the Oct. 14 and Oct. 29 budget meetings are up for approval Wednesday, as agenda items 3 through 5, and had not been posted as of Tuesday morning, so there is no public record yet of what the board discussed at either budget session. The township's 2026 meeting-dates notice had listed the October regular meeting for Oct. 6; the agenda calls the Oct. 14 session the regular meeting.

The township's current rate is 1.875 mills, according to the county's 2026 tax rate table, which lists Brecknock's "district" rate as 0.0018750. That is $1.875 for every $1,000 of assessed value, so a property assessed at $150,000 pays $281.25 a year to the township by our arithmetic. The same table lists a school rate of 34.61 mills and the county's rate of 9.013 mills, for a combined 45.498 mills. Only the township's slice is on Wednesday's agenda. Our rate table lists every Berks municipality, and this guide explains how the county, municipal and school bills fit together.

Two 2027 numbers are already fixed. On Sept. 1 the board adopted the 2027 MMO, or minimum municipal obligation, for each of its two pension plans: $106,641 for the police plan (Resolution 2026-10) and $24,832 for the non-uniformed plan (Resolution 2026-11), according to the Sept. 1 minutes.

The township's budget notice lists a third public budget meeting for Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. The agenda does not say whether the board intends to adopt the budget Wednesday or at a later meeting. The next regular meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., per the agenda and the township's 2026 meeting dates notice, and a separate notice sets an end-of-year meeting for Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.

$225,900 for a wheel loader, if the state says yes

New business item 5 reads: "LSA Grant Application - $225,900.00 for 544 P-Tier Wheel Loader Resolution $100.00 fee." The agenda does not say what the loader would replace, who would use it or whether the township would pay any part of the cost itself.

LSA is the Local Share Account Statewide program. The state Department of Community and Economic Development's program page says the state's gaming law "provides for the distribution of gaming revenues through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) to support projects in the public interest," and lists municipalities among the eligible applicants. The program guidelines include "Purchase of vehicles, machinery and/or equipment" among the eligible uses of the money. They also explain the two other words on the agenda line: public applicants must attach "a resolution duly adopted by the applicant's governing board formally requesting the grant, designating two officials to execute all documents, describing briefly the project scope, and identifying the grant amount," and "The CFA charges a $100 non-refundable application fee" for these applications.

Applications are taken from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 each year, so Wednesday's vote falls inside this year's window. The program's FAQ page says no local match is required, the maximum request is $1,000,000, and the grants reimburse costs after they are incurred. It also says the "anticipated time frame for approval is September in the year following application submission" and recommends that applicants "do not plan to start them for at least a year after application submission." On that timeline, a decision on Brecknock's loader is not expected before September 2027.

A hearing on 103 acres of farmland

Unfinished business item 1 is a public hearing on an application to add land to the township's Agricultural Security Area. The Oct. 26 agenda of the township's Agricultural Security Area Committee lists three parcels, owned by two couples: 82.71 acres on Alleghenyville Road, 9.68 acres at 1745 Alleghenyville Road and 10.8 acres at the same address, which comes to 103.19 acres by our arithmetic. The Planning Commission had the committee's decision on the same three parcels on its agenda that night. Neither body's outcome has been posted.

An Agricultural Security Area is what the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture describes as "a tool for protecting our farms and farmland from non-agricultural uses." Farmers petition the township supervisors to create one, a new area needs at least 250 acres combined, and the department says "new parcels of farmland may be added to an established ASA at any time." Participants, the department says, "receive special consideration regarding" two things: "Protection from local ordinances and nuisance lawsuits affecting normal farming activities" and "Review of farmland condemnation by state and local government agencies." An area with at least 500 acres enrolled also qualifies its land for consideration in the state's farmland preservation program at the owner's request.

The application has been moving since at least Sept. 1, when, according to the minutes, a Pennypacker Road resident asked how long an Ag Security application takes and Solicitor Elizabeth Magovern answered 60 days. Those minutes refer to "all four (4) parcels contained in the Ag Sec application"; the October committee and Planning Commission agendas list three. The documents do not explain the difference.

Two hires: a plow operator at $34.18, an officer at $30

New business item 2 asks the board to add a seasonal snowplow operator to the road crew "on an 'as needed' basis at an hourly rate of $34.18." Item 3 is to "re-hire" a part-time officer "at an hourly rate of $30.00." The agenda names both people and gives nothing else: no hours, no start date, and no explanation of when or why the officer left.

A pole barn 35 feet from the road at 757 Gouglersville Road

New business item 1 is a Zoning Hearing Board application for 757 Gouglersville Road that asks for a variance from Article 2, Section 203, Subsection 5(A) of the zoning ordinance to build an accessory pole barn 35 feet from the ultimate right-of-way where the ordinance's standard requirement is 60 feet. The agenda lists the application under new business and does not say what action, if any, the supervisors will take on it.

A second zoning matter, an update on a Zoning Hearing Board application for 5171 Diehl Road, sits under unfinished business. It was there on Sept. 1 too, when the minutes recorded it as "For information purposes only. No further update."

Also on the agenda

• An update on the Trieb/Irwin subdivision, which the Planning Commission had on its Oct. 26 agenda as "Review Plan."
• A bond, land development agreement and stormwater agreement for 1108 Maple Grove Road. The agenda does not describe the project.
• A presentation from the Mifflin Community Library, and a donation request from Berks Nature, with no amount listed. In September the board gave $200 to the Berks County Conservation District for 2026, per the minutes.
• The EMC report. In September, the minutes say, that was Vice Chair Ron McClure's recounting of "the Police and Fire Company monthly report."
• An executive session, listed as item 11 with no topic. On Sept. 1, Chairman Jeff Fiant announced the board had met in executive session before the meeting "to discuss issues that could possibly involve litigation."

How to attend

The meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Brecknock Township Municipal Building, 889 Alleghenyville Road, Mohnton. Public comment on agenda items is item 2, right after the call to order. The township office is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and answers at (717) 445-6683, per the homepage. Our guide covers how to find meeting schedules across Berks.