Hereford Township Set to Hold Property Tax at 1.75 Mills

Hereford Township's supervisors are scheduled to vote tonight on Resolution 2026-18, which the agenda for the Nov. 3 meeting describes as "setting tax rate for 2027 to 1.75mils (same as 2026)." The county's official 2026 rate table lists Hereford's township rate at 0.0017500, which is 1.75 mills. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so a property assessed at $100,000 pays $100,000 ÷ 1,000 × 1.75 = $175 a year in township tax. That is the township's share only. The county and the school district bill separately; the same county table lists Hereford's school rate at 0.0290242, and our guide to property tax rates by municipality compares the totals across Berks.

The board is also set to approve advertising the 2027 budget for 30 days. The agenda says the budget "is available for review," but the township website does not post the document, and a homepage button labeled "2026 Budget Handbook - review" is not linked to any file. Secretary Hannah Edwards told the board on Sept. 15 that her goal was to have the budget handbook ready for approval to advertise at this meeting. The first pass she reported that night included a $300,000 fire radio budget over seven years for both fire companies, a $20,000 donation to Bally Ambulance, up from $15,000, and paving Shiffert Road, as our recap of that meeting reported. Last year the board listed adoption of the 2026 budget, Resolution 2025-12, on its Dec. 16 agenda. The next board meeting is Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m., with a budget meeting to follow "if needed," according to tonight's agenda.

A shared roller and a new road crew hire

Resolution 2026-19 would adopt an "intermunicipal agreement for purchase of Bomage Roller." The agenda does not name the other governments. On Sept. 1 the board approved a $15,000 Hereford share of a 2018 Bomag roller at an estimated total cost of $55,000 "as a joint co-op purchase." The township's road crew co-op is made up of Hereford, Longswamp and Rockland townships and Topton Borough, according to the joint co-op agenda posted on the township homepage, and Rockland's minutes describe the roller as a four-way split with those same partners, as our Rockland recap reported.

The line painter the board agreed on Sept. 1 to sell through the same co-op is gone. The agenda reports the Kelly Creswell line painter sold on Municibid for $2,900, with the payment split among Hereford, Rockland and Longswamp.

The board is also set to hire Jesse Gamboa as a road crew employee at a starting wage of $25.00 an hour, starting Nov. 9, and to swear him in at the meeting. A new representative of the Hereford Fire Police is also scheduled to be sworn in.

Water from Red Hill, and a hydrant on Star Road

The solicitor's report lists a proposed intermunicipal agreement with the Red Hill Water Authority, an item that has been on the board's agendas since at least July. The authority runs Red Hill Borough's water system, according to the borough's website. The authority's own May 4 minutes say its solicitor had sent agreements to Upper Hanover, Upper Milford and Hereford townships "with a list of properties served in each respective township," and its June 1 minutes note that no response had come from Hereford.

In Hereford, Solicitor Eugene Orlando Jr. told the board on July 7 that he had reviewed the documents, had questions, wanted the board's input on future connections, and did not agree with the authority having sole control over tapping fee costs. The board authorized him to contact Wisler Pearlstine, which the minutes do not further identify, to work through the agreement. On Sept. 1 he reported he was coordinating with the authority on proposed changes and that a resolution authorizing the township to sign would eventually be needed. No such resolution is on tonight's agenda.

A related item, a "Star Road Fire Hydrant Pressure Concern," is back under the engineer's report. The Oct. 6 agenda paired that item with an authorization for the township secretary and engineer to reach out to the Red Hill Water Authority "to discuss concerns." The Oct. 6 minutes are not posted, so what came of that is not yet public.

The Act 537 sewage plan

The solicitor will also give an Act 537 plan update. Under the state's Sewage Facilities Act, municipalities must develop and carry out an official plan that resolves existing sewage disposal problems and provides for future needs, a document the Department of Environmental Protection says is "sometimes called the 'base plan' or the 'Act 537 plan.'"

Hereford's plan has been in the works for about four years, sanitary engineer Fred Ebert of Ebert Engineering told the board at a March 3 presentation, and the township is doing it on its own so it is not forced into one under a DEP mandate. The work identified the township's mixed-use and industrial zoning areas as the primary places for public sewer, with the initial needs areas around Routes 100 and 29. The township is considering a public-private partnership with Audubon Land, which has an existing treatment plant serving the mobile home parks near Routes 29 and 100, rather than building and running its own plant; the township would form an authority and become the plant's customer, and the authority would own certain sewer lines and possibly a pump station. On Sept. 1 the board met in executive session from 6:55 to 7:15 p.m. for the solicitor's advice on the plan, and Orlando reported progress on sewage conveyance and plant layouts and on a sewage development credit program. The working group's next session was Sept. 29, and the Planning Commission's Sept. 30 agenda carried a plan status update.

Supervisor John Membrino said on April 7, in answer to a resident's question, that a public hearing will come when the plan is ready for adoption and submission. The township's zoning, subdivision and stormwater ordinance amendments are substantially complete but are not going through adoption until the plan is finalized, the engineer reported on Feb. 3; those amendments and an ordinance codification are also on tonight's engineer's report.

Grants: backhoe in, radios next, pickleball pending

The engineer's grant list reads "LSA Statewide Grant – Backhoe Granted, Radios to be applied for." The Local Share Account distributes gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, according to DCED's program page. The backhoe application went in last November, per the Feb. 3 minutes; the Oct. 6 agenda listed it as awarded and included authorization for road crew member Chris Day to order a backhoe and mower. Neither document gives the award amount. The radios are for the township's two fire companies, budgeted at $300,000 over seven years in the first budget pass; the Sept. 1 minutes note that 2026 statewide applications are due Nov. 30.

Separately, the township's Berks County LSA application to convert the tennis court at the township park to pickleball courts, authorized by Resolution 2026-15 on Sept. 1, is listed as submitted in September. No award has been announced. The Camp Mensch Mill streambank stabilization and culvert projects also remain on the list; the culvert work drew a $92,000 award, the engineer reported on April 7.

Audit, Comcast and the rest

Under new business the board is set to approve advertising, for two weeks, the consideration of CR & Y Certified Public Accountant to audit the township's accounts and records for fiscal year 2026, and separately to advertise the 2025 financial report that CR & Y completed. The agenda gives no fee.

The Comcast agreement, listed under unfinished business, shows its first movement in months: "received response to Solicitor changes." A "Comcast Model Agreement" first appeared on the Dec. 2, 2025 agenda, Orlando reported on Feb. 3 that he had met with Comcast representatives, and the board's first-of-the-month agendas from April through October carried "awaiting Comcast response to Solicitor changes." None of the posted documents describes the agreement's terms.

The engineer's report also carries the Huffs Church Road culvert and truck traffic (PennDOT's response was on the Oct. 6 agenda), and building and zoning complaint updates on five properties. The winter-maintenance agreement with PennDOT, which the board moved to end on Sept. 15 without a recorded vote, is not on the agenda.

How to attend

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. The board meets in person at the municipal building, 3131 Seisholtzville Road, and by Zoom, according to the township's minutes and website; public comment is the last item before adjournment. The township office can be reached at 610-845-2929 and will be closed Nov. 26 and 27. The Oct. 20 meeting was canceled and its items moved to tonight, and the Oct. 6 minutes were not posted when this story was written. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule, and how Berks County property tax works covers how a mill turns into a bill.