Exeter Township Budget Would Add 0.25 Mills, Move Bond Debt

Exeter Township property owners would pay 0.25 mills more in township real estate tax next year under the proposed 2027 budget the Board of Supervisors takes up Monday. The budget message in the 83-page agenda packet says the overall rate rises "from 4.935 to 5.185 mills, including a General Purpose increase from 3.870 to 4.12," with the fire tax staying at 1.065 mills and the hydrant tax at 0.120 (p. 35). A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so by our arithmetic the increase is $25 a year per $100,000 of assessed value, taking the township bill on a $100,000 assessment from $493.50 to $518.50. The township's tax page uses the $493.50 example for 2026.

Monday's motion is to "Adopt the Proposed 2027 Township Budget and Authorize the Advertisement of the proposed budget for public inspection" (p. 3), the step that opens the budget to public review before a final vote. The meeting is Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at the township building, 4975 DeMoss Road, the address on the agenda (p. 1), three days before staff begin moving to the new offices at 1 Hearthstone Court on Nov. 12 (p. 3).

How the budget balances

The General Fund, which pays for police, roads, administration and parks, is "the primary operating fund for the Township" (p. 42). For 2027 it shows operating revenue of $16,896,293 against expenses of $18,271,619, an operating deficit of $1,375,326 (Exhibit 2, p. 46). An operating deficit is the gap between what a government collects in taxes and fees and what it spends, before money is moved in from other accounts.

Three transfers close the gap: $1,200,000 in interest from the Wastewater Treatment Sale Proceeds Fund, $65,000 from the Reserve Fund and "a transfer from the RCC Fund of $200,000" (p. 46). The budget says the Reading Country Club Clubhouse Fund will be consolidated into the General Fund in 2027 and closed, and Exhibit 1 shows it ending the year with $47,215 (pp. 43, 45); Busch told the Oct. 27 workshop that "closing out the RCC Food and Beverage Fund is expected to transfer about $250,000 to the General Fund, up from the $200,000 originally budgeted," pending "guidance from the Township's auditor" (p. 12). With those, the General Fund ends 2027 about $89,674 ahead and its fund balance, the cash left at year's end, grows from $6,007,706 to $6,097,380 (Exhibit 1, p. 45).

The sewer-sale money is the cushion. The plant's 2019 sale "generated $92.8 million in total proceeds," and the township expects to start 2027 with $38 million of it, earning "about $1.2 million in interest" (p. 67). The $1.2 million is less than the township has been drawing: $1,350,000 in the 2025 and 2026 budgets and $1,650,000 in 2024 (Exhibit 2, p. 46). The transfer was $500,000 in the first draft; at the Oct. 27 workshop, departing Finance Director Sarah Busch "agreed it could be increased from $500,000 to $1.2 million," calling it "a safe, reliable figure that does not exceed the interest earned" (p. 11).

Even then the Oct. 27 draft ran about $229,000 short with no millage change, and Chairperson George Bell said the remaining gap "could translate to a tax increase of roughly $300,000 to $400,000" (p. 12). The final version adds 0.25 mills; the revenue table shows real estate taxes rising $276,395, from $5,142,581 to $5,418,976 (Exhibit 4, p. 48), while the text above it repeats the 2026 budget's "an additional $337K" with only the year and rates changed, so the $337K is last year's figure (p. 48; 2026 budget p. 16).

The deficit grew because the bond payment moved. The 2026 budget drew the $375,000 debt service on the bonds issued in late 2025 for the Emergency Services Center out of the Municipal Complex Fund, whose "Transfer to Other Funds" line shows $375,000 for 2026 and $0 for 2027 (p. 74); the Debt Service Fund's "Transfer from Other Fund" line goes from $375,000 to $724,750, and the budget says the 2027 payment "will be transferred from Fund 01," the General Fund (p. 77). The General Fund side is a new $724,750 "Transfer to Other Funds" line in the township manager's administration budget, $0 in 2026 (p. 56). That line is most of the $849,661 increase in Administration spending, which the budget attributes to "IT Consulting, personnel wages, health insurance and pension payments" without mentioning the transfer (p. 50), and by our arithmetic it exceeds the $477,995 growth in the operating deficit, from $897,331 in the 2026 budget to $1,375,326 (p. 46). "About $724,000 of the General Fund deficit is the bond payment," the Oct. 27 minutes say, and Bell "stated that it will likely be paid from the General Fund in 2027. The Board expects to discuss a fire tax or similar dedicated levy in 2027 for possible implementation in 2028" (p. 12). Exeter already levies a 1.065-mill fire tax; the minutes do not say whether Bell meant raising it or a separate debt levy.

The Emergency Services Center fund goes negative

The biggest number in the packet is outside the General Fund. The Municipal Complex Fund, which holds the bond money for the new Emergency Services Center, budgets $14,148,000 in spending next year, $14,137,000 of it in contracted services, against $300,000 in interest (p. 74). Exhibit 1 projects the fund starting 2027 with $10,952,790 and ending at negative $2,895,210 (p. 45). Busch told the board Oct. 27 that about $13.5 million in construction costs "would leave the Municipal Complex Fund at roughly negative $2.8 million unless more bonds or other financing are secured"; Bell "wanted to see final cost estimates before discussing additional bonds" and said the negative figures "reflect timing and fund transfers, not actual operating deficits" (p. 12). The board sent the center out to bid in September and leaned toward a 2027 bond sale, as our September recap reported; the packet reports no bid award.

Police, public works, fire and the library

The budget message says personnel reductions "will be accomplished by delaying the hiring of replacement personnel in the Police and Public Works Departments" (p. 35). Police Chief Steve Powell told the Oct. 27 workshop that "the budget funds one fewer detective" (p. 13); detective unit wages drop from $849,000 to $809,000 (p. 63) and overtime stays at $397,200 (p. 62). Public works administration wages fall from $1,694,000 to $1,438,000 (p. 59); the budget attributes "a portion" of the department's 13% decrease to the combined township manager and public works director position now tracked under Administration and the rest to "previous years' expenditure experience" (p. 50). A county-wide police radio replacement, "about $222,778, financed over seven years at up to 6 percent," adds about $34,735 a year (p. 13).

The Fire Services Fund, paid by the unchanged 1.065-mill fire tax, budgets $1,594,376 in spending against $1,428,433 in revenue, a $165,943 deficit that drops its balance from $241,358 to $75,415 (pp. 45, 69). The difference is a $150,000 capital line (p. 69) for radios Fire Chief Jordan said are "no longer supported," with an actual cost estimated at "$150,000 to $200,000" to replace about 40 of 60 portables (p. 5).

The Exeter Community Library gets $200,000, the same as the 2026 budget (pp. 38, 50, 55). Executive Director Julie Wyatt asked for exactly that on Oct. 26 and said "funding was reduced in January 2026" (p. 4). The line item shows $250,000 paid in 2025 (p. 55), and the 2026 amended budget lists "decreases of $50,000 to the library contribution" among that year's cuts (p. 5). The 2027 figure holds the cut rather than restoring it.

Where the document contradicts itself

One page does not match the rest. The "Budget Highlights" page says the general-purpose rate "rises by 0.25 mills from 3.620 mills to 3.870 mills" and that "the recycling fee will be reduced to $137 per household" (p. 38). Those are last year's figures: the township's tax page lists 3.870 general-purpose mills for 2026, and the 2026 amended budget describes the same 3.620-to-3.870 increase and the $137 fee (pp. 3, 5). The budget message (p. 35) and the revenue pages (pp. 47-48) give the 2027 rates, 3.870 to 4.12 and 4.935 to 5.185.

The recycling fee is a second conflict. The message says the budget "includes no change to the annual Recycling Fee of $144" and, two paragraphs later, that "some user fees will be increased (such as the annual Recycling fee" (p. 35). The revenue section says the fee "is being increased to $144 per household" (p. 47) and is "proposed to increase to $144 per household in 2027" (p. 48), and the collection revenue line rises from $1,108,182 to $1,165,510 (p. 54). The 2026 budget set the fee at $137 (p. 3). By our arithmetic, $1,108,182 divided by $137 is about 8,089 households and $1,165,510 divided by $144 is about 8,094, so the revenue line is built on a $137-to-$144 change at a flat household count. If $137 is the current fee, households would pay $7 more; the packet does not say so in one place.

The adoption date is a third. The message says the budget "is available for public inspection as November 13, 2026, thus this budget is available for adoption on or after December 3, 2026, and a meeting for adoption has been scheduled for December 14, 2026" (p. 35), and the budget calendar lists Dec. 14 (p. 41). The draft Oct. 27 minutes, up for approval Monday, say "a final vote is planned for November 23" (p. 14), the next regular meeting on the agenda (p. 3). By the message's own timeline, Nov. 23 falls before the budget could be adopted.

Also on Monday's agenda

The draft Oct. 26 minutes record the board's 5-0 recommendation that the Zoning Hearing Board approve Metropolitan Development Group's parking variance for 236 apartments at 3925 Perkiomen Ave., 1.9 spaces per unit instead of three (p. 8). We previewed that vote in our Oct. 26 story. The zoning board's agendas page lists an Oct. 29 agenda for "Metropolitan 11, LLC – 3925 Perkiomen Avenue"; its minutes page runs through Sept. 30 and lists no Oct. 29 minutes, and no certification of order is posted.

The Sumter Local Government Consulting arrangement, $95 an hour for up to 24 hours a week, was presented Oct. 26 as a report: "No Board action was requested" (p. 9).

Two resolutions are up for votes. Resolution 2026-40 approves a sewer planning module for a house at 10 Perry St.; PA American Water "is currently under a corrective action order from PA DEP" that requires one for every new connection (p. 19). Resolution 2026-41 grants a conditional waiver of subdivision rule 330-27(B) so David and Katie Griesmer can run Northern Light Lawn Care from 720 Hall Ave., a light-industrial parcel reachable only through a residential neighborhood after a neighbor refused an easement; the Planning Commission recommended approval Oct. 19 (pp. 22-25).

The board may also authorize a 2027 agreement with No Nonsense Neutering for trap-neuter-vaccinate-return vouchers for feral cats. The clinic's fee is $40 per cat; the agreement "will identify the number of cats and the per-cat amount covered by the Township," and the packet gives no total (p. 31).

What happens next and how to comment

If the board approves advertising Monday, the budget is open for inspection from Nov. 13 (p. 35); the message's adoption date is Dec. 14 and the minutes' is Nov. 23. Residents can comment Monday by signing up at the front of the room; speakers may be held to three minutes, with 30 minutes of comment per meeting, and the meeting streams on the township's YouTube channel (p. 1). The township office closes Nov. 11 and Nov. 26-27 (p. 3). The county's 2026 rate table and our tax-rate guide list Exeter at 3.870 mills, the general-purpose rate alone, within a combined county, school and township total of 51.1805 mills; our property tax explainer covers how the three bills add up.