Fleetwood OKs Yearly Fire Tax Hikes as $1.6M Truck Looms

Fleetwood Borough Council voted Sept. 14 to raise the borough's fire tax by 0.1 mill a year, starting with the 2027 tax bill, according to the minutes the borough posted Monday. The same meeting adopted the three-town comprehensive plan Fleetwood shares with Richmond and Maidencreek townships and approved a fifth version of the zoning ordinance. The fire-tax outcome was not in any posted record when we previewed council's Oct. 13 meeting.

The fire tax vote

Fire Chief John Manmiller told council the Fleetwood Fire Company had answered 504 calls so far in 2026, "not all in Fleetwood," across 20 municipalities (p. 2). The fire tax, he said, "started in 2012 at 1 mil and has not been raised in the past 14 years." The roughly $154,000 it has brought in, the minutes say, "covered truck payments, new equipment/gear," and he said rising costs would not be covered "by the current .1 mil fire tax."

The minutes carry both figures, "1 mil" and ".1 mil," for the current rate, and do not reconcile them. A June 2025 fire services study by the state Department of Community and Economic Development lists Fleetwood's "Fire Tax Rate (Millage)" as "1.00%" (p. 3), which, read as the millage its label says it is, matches the chief's "1 mil." The study's chart on the same page puts fire-tax revenue at about $160,000 a year for 2020 through 2025, near the $154,000 in the minutes. The county's 2026 rate table shows only the borough's total municipal rate, 6.750 mills (see our tax-rate guide).

The chief asked for 0.1 mill more each year for five years and said the steps "will net the fire company 15k in year 1, 30k in year 2, 45k in year 3, 60k in year 4 and 75k in year 5 and subsequent." Fundraisers bring in more than the tax, he said; the company has 45 active members, 12 to 14 of whom go out on an average call.

One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so by our arithmetic each 0.1-mill step adds $10 per $100,000 of assessed value. After five such steps, a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $50 a year more than now.

The truck is the biggest cost the chief cited: the minutes pair "expenses increasing" with the "new ladder truck (approx. $1.6million)." Manmiller said the company's 2003 tower truck cost $760,000 and would cost $2.1 million today, and that the straight-ladder truck on order for 2027 will cost $1.6 million. County-mandated radio replacements are also due in May 2027; the company plans to seek a grant for them (p. 2).

The motion, as recorded: "Motion to approve increasing the fire tax .1 mil for 2027. Then each year an additional .1 mill for the next 5 years." Council President Ralph Touch made it, Vice President Pete Merkel seconded it, and the minutes mark it "Motion Carried" with no recorded vote count. Touch took part virtually, and Merkel ran the meeting; Councilman Mike Mayer was absent (p. 1). The wording could be read as six increases rather than the five the chief described; the minutes do not say which was intended.

The minutes record only the motion and do not say whether an ordinance or budget vote must follow to put the new rate on bills. Borough Manager Chris Young said a tentative 2027 budget would come to the October meeting (p. 4), and the Borough Code requires adoption by Dec. 31, so the 2027 budget is where the increase would appear.

A grant request and a fire consultant

Council authorized the chief to apply for what the minutes call an "LSA Fire Grant" of about $50,000 for a utility side-by-side vehicle (Resolution 2026-09-14-01, moved by Mark Watkins, seconded by Nancy Wunderly, carried). The Local Share Account is the state program that distributes gaming revenue under the Gaming Act through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Manmiller said the unit would replace a 1981 golf cart and could double as a rescue vehicle on the reservoir trails. The minutes say there "would be no cost to the Fleetwood borough" (p. 2).

Council also agreed to hire Scott Little, who wrote the DCED study but has since left the department, as an independent fire consultant at a cost "not to exceed $2,500 as a combined cost with Richmond Township" (moved by John Rothenberger, seconded by Merkel, carried). The study's first recommendation for the fire company listed an "opportunity to explore with Borough officials on a fire tax increase" (p. 12).

The comprehensive plan

Before the regular meeting, Solicitor Andy George held a public hearing from 6:15 to 6:27 p.m. on the Joint Comprehensive Plan; "each municipality must perform their own adoption," the minutes note (p. 1). The minutes say the plan is updated every 10 years and covers "education, housing, sharing services, guidelines for commercial areas, highway systems, safe travel routes for students to schools, preserving the history and resources of municipalities." Notice ran in the Reading Eagle on Sept. 3 and 7. Russell Anderson, a plan committee member, said the committee spent two years on the revision; Wunderly, also on the committee, said 462 survey responses came back across the three municipalities. No public comment is recorded. Council adopted the plan by Resolution 2026-09-14-02 (p. 3). Richmond Township was scheduled to be the last of the three to vote, on Oct. 12.

Zoning and two tabled items

Council approved "version #5" of the zoning ordinance, which the minutes say summarizes earlier amendments (Resolution 2026-09-14-03); named LTL borough zoning officer and adopted LTL's fee schedule (Resolution 2026-09-14-04); and adopted an inspection checklist the minutes do not describe (Resolution 2026-09-14-05). All carried (p. 3). The point-of-sale inspection ordinance and the Willow Crest water-line dedication, both on the agenda, were tabled and returned on the Oct. 13 agenda.

Money and projects

• Surplus sales: the Public Works dump truck sold on Municibid for $42,100 to Rillscon and a police car for $6,000 to Rickbern (p. 3).
• Sewer plant: a "phase reversal" did about $150,000 in damage. The electric company's insurer offered about $109,000, which would leave the borough about $40,000; the settlement is on hold while the electrician checks its own coverage (p. 3).
• Water tank: after a visit from Senator Fetterman's staff, the borough applied for $1 million from the senator's discretionary funds to replace the 1.5-million-gallon tank at the reservoir. "This is not a grant," the minutes say (p. 4).
• Community Center: an AC failure and water leak cost $12,000 and $5,000 to fix (p. 4).
• Police: Joshua Klouser was to start as a full-time officer in late September or early October (p. 1).
• Parking: council discussed shortening the posted hours in the municipal lot on Pearl Alley (the agenda called it the "municipal lot on Main St") to free spaces for tenants of 23-29 W. Main St. The minutes say it was suggested that the Parking Committee (Jim Meals, Nancy Wunderly and Mike Mayer) survey businesses; no motion is recorded (p. 3).

What happens next

The fire tax increase should show up in the tentative 2027 budget. Council's next regular meeting is Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Center cafeteria, 110 W. Arch St., per the borough's 2026 schedule, with a workshop, if needed, Oct. 26.

The Oct. 13 meeting, where council was to fill a vacant seat and elect a president, has a video but no minutes posted. The borough's officials page now lists Mark Watkins as council president and "Russel Anderson (interim appt)" among the members, and no longer lists Ralph Touch. Anderson is the comprehensive-plan committee member quoted in these minutes, which spell his first name Russell. The record does not say how or why Touch left. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule.

Corrections: corrections@berksbeat.com.