$110 Recycling Tax: Colebrookdale Adds $10 for 2027

Colebrookdale Township's recycling tax will go to $110 in 2027, up from $100 this year. The Board of Commissioners made that call at an Oct. 26 budget meeting, according to minutes scanned Nov. 5 and posted by Friday morning, and the reason is the township's recycling contract, which the manager put at $211,512.72 for next year. Minutes from the Oct. 12 budget meeting and the Oct. 19 regular meeting were scanned the same morning.

The recycling tax and the contract behind it

A recycling tax is a yearly charge, billed with the township real-estate tax, that pays for curbside recycling pickup; the money is kept in a recycling fund separate from the general fund. The Oct. 26 minutes record the decision in one sentence: "The Board had a short discussion and decided to increase the recycling tax to $110.00 for 2027 up from $100.00 in 2026." No motion or vote is recorded. Vice President Linwood Bartman was absent; the other four commissioners and Township Manager Todd Gamler were there.

It is the second $10 increase in two years: last fall the board discussed a 2026 rate of "$100.00 up from $90.00 per year," the Oct. 27, 2025 minutes say.

The driver is the contract. The Oct. 12 and Oct. 26 minutes carry the same report: "The Township Manager has received the revised cost for recycling in 2027. That cost is $211,512.72. That is an increase of $758.57 per month. The recycling contract will go out for bid in the middle of 2027." Twelve months at $758.57 is $9,102.84 more a year, and $211,512.72 works out to $17,626.06 a month; that is our arithmetic, since the minutes give neither the 2026 contract cost nor the contractor's name.

The Oct. 26 minutes add the manager's concern about what comes after the bid: "Manager Gamler said he is worried the cost of the new contract may be higher and cause a shortfall for the beginning of 2028."

The minutes do not say who pays the tax. The township's 2026 recycling pickup flyer, linked from its recycling page, says "The recycling fee is included in your real estate tax bill," so property owners pay it with their township tax, and the board's Jan. 5 reorganization minutes (p. 4) record Resolution 1-3-26 appointing the Berks County Tax Claim Bureau "as Collector of delinquent street light assessments and recycling fees for Colebrookdale Township." Whether it is one charge per parcel or per dwelling unit is not in any posted document. The 2026 fee schedule, Resolution 1-4-26, lists only a $20 charge for an extra 24-gallon bin and a $25 charge to landlords for bins missing when a new tenant arrives (Section 11), plus $25 per dwelling unit in new subdivisions, paid into the Recycling Fund for bins (Section 10). The 1991 recycling ordinance requires every resident to separate recyclables, promises the first bin free and requires pickup at least every two weeks, but sets no yearly charge. The hauler's Colebrookdale page, linked from the same recycling page, says Whitetail Disposal collects recycling every other Monday.

The rest of the budget talks, and what the minutes leave out

Neither budget meeting recorded a motion or vote. The Oct. 12 minutes say the board got a hard copy of the 2027 general fund budget and reviewed 2026 revenues and expenses to date, and Roadmaster Michael Hillegas outlined proposed 2027 road projects. The township had not yet received notice of its 2027 liquid fuels allocation, the state's yearly share of fuel-tax money sent to each municipality for roads. The board also discussed a trench drain at the bottom of Fortress Drive, drainage work at the salt shed and pipes on Mountain Road that need replacement. President James Davidheiser was absent.

The Oct. 26 minutes record one finding beyond the recycling decision: the manager "believes that the streetlight fund is ok currently."

There is no 2027 general fund total, no revenue or spending figure, no property tax millage and no mention of a tax change; last year's Oct. 27 minutes had recorded talk of raising real estate tax "either a half mill or 1 mill." That talk ended in an increase: on Dec. 1, 2025, the board approved Tax Ordinance 5-2025, which "would raise the millage to 5.5 from 5 mills," along with Resolution 12-1-2025 adopting the 2026 budget and Resolution 12-2-2025 keeping the street light assessment "at $ 0.53 per front foot for 2026," the Dec. 1, 2025 minutes show (p. 2). The Oct. 26 agenda listed seven funds besides recycling with no figures. No date to advertise or adopt the budget appears in any of the three documents, and no proposed budget is posted on the township's agendas and minutes page.

The biggest 2027 figure the township has put on the record so far was settled earlier: the board approved the Eastern Berks Regional Police budget at $140,461.33 a month on Sept. 21, as we reported in our Sept. 21 recap.

Oct. 19: animal shelter, walking trail, drainage, plan deadlines

All five commissioners attended the Oct. 19 meeting, the minutes show (p. 1), and nobody spoke during public participation.

Animal Rescue League. Police Chief Barry Leatherman presented the 2027 memorandum of understanding with the Animal Rescue League; an MOU is a written agreement spelling out what each side will do. "The rates did not increase," the minutes say (p. 2), and the board approved it on a motion by Commissioner William Spade, seconded by Commissioner Matthew Pritchard. The rates themselves are not given.

Walking trail. On a motion by Pritchard, seconded by Spade, the board approved Resolution 10-1-2026, "which amends the location of the walking trail at Pa Senior Development" (p. 2). Davidheiser and Gamler had been shown a possible relocation before the Sept. 21 meeting, per our recap; the new route is not described.

Fortress Drive and the salt garage. Engineer Stephen Tabakelis reported that work on the trench drain design for the Fortress Drive entrance is underway (p. 2). Bartman, Spade and Gamler met LTL Consultants at the salt building to review comments from the MS4 report, and LTL "will be making recommendations to help with the water issue that is occurring at the salt garage" (p. 2). MS4 is the federal stormwater permit, issued in Pennsylvania by DEP, for municipalities with storm sewer systems.

Liquid fuels. The board "was presented with the 2027 Liquid Fuel Allocation estimate from the State," a week after the Oct. 12 note that no notice had arrived; the amount is not in the minutes. The roadmaster discussed "getting bids to rent equipment to pave some of the non-liquid fuels roadways that need repair" (p. 2).

Plan extensions. On the Planning Commission's recommendation, the board extended its deadline to act on the 933 N. Reading Avenue plan to Dec. 21, 2026, and on the 733 Englesville Road minor subdivision to Feb. 28, 2027 (p. 3). Applicants pay a review escrow, money the township holds to cover its engineer's and solicitor's review costs, under the fee schedule (pp. 9-10).

Also on Oct. 19. The board approved $37,070.57 in general fund bills, $18,367.50 from the recycling fund and $14,112.86 from payroll, with Bartman abstaining (p. 1). It authorized advertising the 2027 meeting dates (p. 2). The chief reported a truck inspection detail on Route 100 on Oct. 7 (p. 2). The meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m. into an executive session, a closed meeting the Sunshine Act allows for topics such as personnel, "to discuss a personnel issue" (p. 3). Two agenda items, a bridge-work permit notice and "Berks County Comprehensive Planning," do not appear in the minutes.

What is not on the record

The board met again Monday, Nov. 2. As of Nov. 6 the township has posted that meeting's agenda but no minutes. The agenda included a "Public Hearing on the Joint Zoning Ordinance Amendment," "Approval of Ordinance 3-2026," a false alarm ordinance, a transfer of funds and the sale of a public works truck. The amendment would allow data centers by special exception in the township's quarry district, per our joint zoning preview. Whether the board held the hearing or voted is not on any posted record; our data center tracker will carry the outcome when it is.

The Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 minutes, both signed by the manager, were listed for approval Nov. 2; with no Nov. 2 minutes posted, we cannot confirm the board approved them as written.

What happens next and how to comment

The next regular meeting is Monday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Colebrookdale Township Municipal Building, 765 W. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, per the township's meeting dates page. The remaining 2026 meetings are Dec. 7 and Dec. 21. Last year the board took a "1st Reading of the 2026 Budget" at its Nov. 17 meeting, per that agenda, and on Dec. 1 held the "Second Reading of the Budget" and voted on the tax ordinance and budget resolution, per that agenda and the minutes. If the board follows last year's calendar, a first reading of the 2027 budget comes Nov. 16 and adoption, with any tax ordinance, Dec. 7; neither is on a posted agenda yet.

The board takes public comment near the start of each meeting and again at the end for people not signed in, the Oct. 19 and Nov. 2 agendas show. The township office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 610-369-1362, per the township homepage; residents who want the 2027 figures before a vote can ask whether the hard copy given to the board Oct. 12 is available.

Sources

• Oct. 26 and Oct. 12 budget meeting minutes and Oct. 19 Board of Commissioners minutes, all scanned PDFs listed on the township's agendas and minutes page.
• Oct. 19 agenda, Oct. 26 budget agenda, Nov. 2 agenda, the Oct. 27, 2025 budget minutes, the Nov. 17, 2025 agenda, the Dec. 1, 2025 agenda and minutes, and the Jan. 5, 2026 reorganization minutes.
• Resolution 1-4-26, the 2026 fee schedule and Ordinance 7-91, the recycling ordinance, from the ordinance and fee schedule page; the township's recycling page, its 2026 recycling pickup flyer and the hauler's Colebrookdale page.
• The township homepage and meeting dates page.