Fleetwood Eyes 0.5-Mill Tax Hike, 50% Sewer Rate Increase

Fleetwood Borough Council plans to vote Monday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. on a 2027 budget that would raise the borough property tax by 0.5 mill, add the 0.1-mill fire tax step council approved in September, and raise sewer rates 50 percent, according to the agenda posted Friday. The borough has posted no budget document, so the agenda's one-line items are the only figures in any posted document.

The agenda's date line reads "Monday Nov 9th 2027," a typo; the borough's 2026 meeting schedule and the proposed budget notice it ran in the Reading Eagle on Oct. 29 both put the meeting on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fleetwood Community Center, which the schedule lists at 110 W. Arch St. The agenda says the meeting is "held in Café." Residents may speak on agenda items for up to three minutes each near the start and on other matters near the end.

What the tax items would cost

Under the finance report, the agenda lists "Approve 2027 general budget" and, beneath it, "Approve to advertise ordinance for increase of property taxes by .5 mill and .1 mill fire tax." One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. By our arithmetic, 0.6 mill adds $60 a year per $100,000 of assessed value: $50 from the general increase and $10 from the fire tax.

The county's 2026 rate table lists Fleetwood's municipal rate as 6.750 mills, a single figure that does not break out the fire tax (see our tax-rate guide). If both increases pass and the county table's figure includes the fire tax, the borough rate would be 7.350 mills, an 8.9 percent increase by our arithmetic; that condition matters because the Sept. 14 minutes give the current fire tax as both "1 mil" and ".1 mil," a conflict we flagged in October. A home assessed at $100,000 would pay about $735 a year in borough tax instead of $675. School and county taxes are separate (see how your tax bill is split).

The 0.1-mill fire tax step is not new. Council voted Sept. 14 to raise the fire tax ".1 mil for 2027. Then each year an additional .1 mill for the next 5 years," according to the minutes (p. 2), which we reported in October. Fire Chief John Manmiller told council then that the steps would bring the fire company $15,000 in the first year, rising to $75,000 a year by the fifth, and that a $1.6 million ladder truck is on order for 2027. The 0.5-mill general increase is new; it appears in no posted agenda or minutes before Monday's; the Oct. 13 meeting, which listed a "2027 general budget review and proposal," has a video but no minutes.

The agenda item is to advertise an ordinance, not to adopt one. The Borough Code lets a borough set its tax rate by resolution when the rate stays the same or falls, but requires an ordinance "if the tax rate increases from the previous fiscal year." So the tax vote that counts would come at a later meeting, after the ordinance is advertised, and the Code requires the budget to be adopted by Dec. 31.

Sewer rates up 50 percent, water flat

The agenda lists "Approve 2027 sewer budget" with the note "with 50% increase in sewer rates per Authority," and "Approve 2027 water budget with no increase," with the note "Will use reserves to offset deficit." Reserves are money the borough has saved from past years. The agenda does not say how large the water deficit is or how much of the reserve it would use.

The Fleetwood Borough Authority is the separate board whose agendas carry the water and sewer rate studies and the 2027 Authority budget. Its Oct. 20 agenda listed a "Sewer Rate Report" from the engineering firm Entech, with sub-items on a "Sunsweet Usage Reduction," planned capital improvements and how to finance them; its Sept. 15 agenda listed sewer and water rate studies. No report or minutes from either meeting are posted, so what the Authority recommended, and why, is not in the public record. Council's Oct. 13 agenda, which we previewed, carried the line "Suggested rate increase to authority?" with no figure.

The borough's water and sewer page lists the current rates: a minimum quarterly bill of $40.84 for water plus $34.79 for sewer for up to 5,000 gallons, and $11.47 for water plus $7.02 for sewer for each additional 1,000 gallons. The page does not date those rates. If the 50 percent increase applies to both sewer charges, by our arithmetic the sewer minimum would rise to about $52.19 a quarter, about $17.40 more, or roughly $70 a year, and the overage charge would rise to $10.53 per 1,000 gallons. The agenda does not state the current rate, the new rate, which charges the increase applies to, or when it would take effect.

Police: two openings and a contract

Police Chief Dale Ulshafer's report lists "Two open positions (Mike Quinn retires 12/26)" and a recommendation for "a hire-from-street policy," which the agenda does not define. At a June 29 workshop, the chief told council the department had 17 full- and part-time officers and that putting a recruit through the police academy costs roughly $30,000. A "Police radio agreement" is also listed; the agenda does not say with whom or for how much.

The manager's report asks council to "Approve police CBA agreement." A CBA, or collective bargaining agreement, is the contract setting police pay and working conditions. The agenda gives no term or cost.

Ordinances, parking and the water line

Three legal items return from earlier agendas. The Willow Crest water line dedication, in which the borough would accept ownership of the line by resolution and bill of sale, was tabled in August and September. The point-of-sale inspection ordinance, still "with committee," would tie a borough inspection to the sale of a property; the solicitor told council in August the draft covers curbing, sidewalks, debris and exterior problems, with different deadlines for owner-occupied homes, rentals and businesses, per the Aug. 11 minutes. A "zoning overlay residential over industrial," a set of zoning rules laid over an existing district, is listed for the second time with no description. The agenda does not say whether any of the three is up for adoption.

Permit parking at the municipal lot on Main Street is back. The minutes place the two-hour lot along Pearl Alley behind 23-25 W. Main St., whose owner asked for three permit spaces for tenants; council sent the question to its parking committee in August and September.

Smaller items

• A $3,500 professional review of the non-uniformed employee manual.
• A change to the prescription co-pay in employee health benefits, with no figure given.
• A "welcome" sign and a painted tiger at the Springfield and Richmond pollinator garden, with "No borough funds at this time."
• "Pool grant $249K reimbursement," listed without a motion. The agenda does not name the grant; the borough finished paying for its new pool bathhouse in July, per the July 6 minutes.
• A used leaf collector from Richmond Township for $17,000.
• An application to the state's Local Share Account gaming-revenue grant program for a bucket or lift truck.
• An MS4 audit in December. MS4, short for municipal separate storm sewer system, is the federal stormwater permit program under which the borough reports to the state DEP.
• Approving the October minutes, which are not posted; the officials page has only a video of the Oct. 13 meeting.

What happens next

If council approves advertising the tax ordinance Monday, the ordinance and the final budget would return for adoption before Dec. 31, likely at the Dec. 14 meeting. The Borough Code requires the proposed budget to be on file for public inspection for ten days before adoption; the Oct. 29 notice is the only sign so far that the document exists. The office at 110 W. Arch St., Suite 104, is open Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with Friday by appointment, per the borough's notices page (the site's sidebar says Monday through Friday); the phone is 610-944-8220. The Authority next meets Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Center.

Corrections: corrections@berksbeat.com.