Ontelaunee Eyes $10-a-Month Sewer Cut, a Manager Post

Ontelaunee Township's supervisors are scheduled to vote tonight on Resolution 2026-7, which the Nov. 5 agenda describes as a measure "to reduce the sewer rate per EDU from $105 to $95 per month effective January 1, 2027."

An EDU is an equivalent dwelling unit. The township's sewer code defines it as the flow of an average single home, set at 195 gallons a day, and assigns every residential dwelling unit one EDU "regardless of water consumption." For a house on township sewer, the monthly bill would drop from $105 to $95, which is $120 a year by our arithmetic: $1,260 now against $1,140 after Jan. 1. The 2026 rate sheet on the township's Water & Sewer page lists the current sewer user fee at $105 per month per EDU and a $7,500-per-EDU tapping fee for new connections.

This would be the second cut in two years. On Oct. 2, 2025 the board told the solicitor to draft a resolution dropping the fee from $110 to $105, and on Nov. 6, 2025 it approved that cut as Resolution 2025-7, 2-0, effective Jan. 1, 2026. A companion item tonight, Resolution 2026-9, would amend "the omnibus fee resolution for water and sewer service effective January 1, 2027." The agenda does not say what else in the fee schedule would change.

The 2027 budget, with no numbers posted

The board is asked to give "tentative approval of the 2027 general, water and sewer budget." The agenda carries no totals or tax rate, and the township website does not post the budget. Last year the board gave tentative approval in November and final approval in December: on Dec. 4, 2025 the board adopted Resolution 2025-8 "setting the tax millage at 4.05 mills for 2026," 3-0, and gave final approval to the 2026 budget. The next regular meeting is Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., per tonight's agenda. Our guide to property tax rates by municipality lists Ontelaunee's township rate at 4.050 mills.

The agenda also lists the 2027 calendar to be advertised: a reorganization meeting Monday, Jan. 4, at 6 p.m. followed by a regular meeting at 7, regular meetings on the first Thursday at 7 p.m., and worksessions the Tuesday before each at 7 p.m.

A township manager, which the township does not have

Under the solicitor's report, the board is asked to authorize the solicitor's office "to draft and advertise an ordinance creating a Township Manager position," plus a job description, a salary resolution and employee-handbook changes. Nothing on the agenda says why, or what the job would pay.

The township has no manager today. The January reorganization minutes appoint Kim Y. Berger as secretary/treasurer, Hartman, Valeriano, Magovern and Lutz as solicitor, ARRO Consulting as engineer and Ryan Wessner as zoning and code enforcement officer; no manager appears. "Personnel" and "Employee handbook" were the first and fifth items on the board's Sept. 29 worksession agenda, and tonight's agenda ends with "Discussion and motion regarding personnel." That same worksession agenda also listed "2027 Budget," "Leesport Fire Co.," "Fire Co. radio refresh," "Street lights changing to LED" and "Traffic signals - Route 61 corridor," so the budget the board votes on tonight, the fire company's needs, the Met-Ed streetlight swap and the Route 61 signals were all on the board's worksession agenda a month ago, with no worksession minutes or budget posted. An ordinance would still need to be advertised and voted on at a later meeting.

The three-member board also turned over this year: the board accepted Charles Grebloski's resignation on May 5, and Ronald Tobias has sat with Chairman Jeremy Hoagland and Josh Steingraber since the June 4 meeting.

$160,000 for fire and EMS, and a tax refund

The board is asked to approve 2027 contributions of $80,000 to Union Fire Company No. 1 of Leesport, $80,000 to Northern Berks EMS and $8,500 to the Schuylkill Valley Library, the same three amounts the board approved for 2026 on Nov. 6, 2025. Smaller lines are $250 to the Berks County Solid Waste Authority and $200 to the Center for Excellence in Local Government, both unchanged. Crime Alert Berks County reads $20.00 tonight against $200 in last year's minutes; the agenda does not explain the difference.

The tax collector's report asks the board to refund $28,351.47 in taxes to "CHIPT" for tax years 2023 through 2026 "due to a change in assessment." The agenda does not spell out the name. Last November the board refunded $21,243.88 to Ontelaunee Power for 5115 Pottsville Pike after its assessment fell from $14,500,000 to $11,877,300.

October's bills: $1.37 million

The board is asked to approve October expenditures of $1,366,127.66: $285,305.83 general, $141,237.17 water, $741,351.59 sewer and $198,233.07 Liquid Fuels. The sewer figure is far above the $42,700.98 on the Oct. 1 agenda, and the agenda does not itemize it; the November 2025 minutes show a similar autumn figure, $667,604.70. The Liquid Fuels amount matches to the penny the first pay application for the 2026 Road Improvement Project on the Aug. 6 agenda.

Engineer: three plan extensions and two bond releases

Engineer Dave Kee's list asks the board to extend the review deadline for the Epting Tract to Dec. 5, Cambridge Lee to Dec. 3, and the Gasperi Tract, also called Willow Creek Farms, by 90 days to Feb. 6, 2027. Epting and Gasperi have been extended at least since February, when the board accepted extensions to May 7 (Feb. 5 minutes); the engineer's report in the July 1 minutes says "no activity since the last report" for each.

The board would also release $111,582.63 of Forino Co.'s letter of credit for McIntosh II, Phase III and $32,538.29 of Reitnouer's, and discuss a time-extension request on the Route 73 and Ontelaunee Drive intersection project, "three traffic signal issues along the Route 61 corridor" and a traffic impact fee resolution; the Aug. 6 agenda asked the board to authorize ARRO to review and update the transportation impact fee, and no minutes from that meeting are posted.

Also on the agenda

• Resolution 2026-8, an agreement with the Berks County Department of Emergency Services "regarding a 911 Records agreement." The agenda does not describe its terms; the county's DES public information page lists incident logs, audit requests and subpoenas as its records channels.
• A memorandum of understanding with the ARL for animal control. On Feb. 5 the board discussed an ARL option at "$200 per dog" with a $100 pickup fee.
• Ratifying a Met-Ed form so the utility can replace the streetlights it owns with LED bulbs "at no cost to the township."
• A $3,908.56 office server from Schultz Technology, the 2027 employee holidays, and discussions of handicap parking and equipment.

The data-center zoning amendment, Ordinance 2026-3, which had a hearing and possible enactment on the Oct. 1 agenda, is not on tonight's, and no minutes from that meeting are posted; our data center tracker carries the township's row.

How to attend

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the township building, 35 Ontelaunee Drive, Reading, PA 19605. "Business from Floor" comes early in the agenda, after the fire, EMS and police reports. The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 610-926-4240, per the township website.

The township links the current agenda from a button on its homepage, but its Meeting Minutes 2026 page is behind: the entries labeled as the Aug. 6 and Sept. 3 minutes open those meetings' agendas, and the newest minutes posted are from July 1. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule. Ontelaunee is in the Schuylkill Valley School District, whose 2026-27 tax increase we covered in July.