Robesonia Weighs EMS Tax, Hires Lawyer on Police Contract

Robesonia Borough Council is weighing a new EMS readiness tax for next year's tax bills, and it has hired a second lawyer to review the borough's police contract after residents asked for more police hours at a public hearing. Both are recorded in the minutes of council's Oct. 5 regular meeting and Oct. 19 workshop, which the borough posted to its minutes page Thursday night. Council also adopted a snow emergency ordinance, released $201,175.70 of a developer's security for Maple Avenue Apartments, and saw a first draft of the 2027 budget that gives the Shade Tree Commission nothing. Our preview covered the Oct. 5 agenda.

An EMS tax on next year's bills

The Oct. 19 minutes say council "discussed the proposed 2027 budget, including the possibility of implementing an EMS readiness tax to be included on next year's tax bills," and that council "hopes to approve advertising the proposed budget at the November meeting, pending further review and discussion." An EMS readiness tax is a property tax levied to support the ambulance and rescue service that covers a town, paid whether or not a household ever calls 911. The minutes give no rate, no dollar amount and no vote; the item was discussion only.

State law sets the ceiling. The Borough Code's Section 1302(a)(9) lets a borough tax "for the purpose of supporting ambulance, rescue and other emergency services serving the borough, not to exceed one-half mill, except as provided in subsection (e)." Subsection (e) raises that cap to two mills only if borough voters approve the higher rate in a referendum. The same section says borough taxes "shall be levied on the dollar on the valuation assessed for county purposes," so the tax would be a millage on assessed value, not a flat fee. A 2024 law, Act 54, allows up to five mills, but only in an "eligible borough," defined as one "in a county of the second class A that is contiguous to a city of the first class." Berks is a third class county, per the county's comprehensive plan, so Robesonia's ceiling is half a mill, or two with voter approval.

Robesonia's current borough rate is 4.9 mills, listed as 0.0049000 in the county's 2026 tax rate table. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so a home assessed at $100,000 pays $100,000 ÷ 1,000 × 4.9 = $490 a year to the borough by our arithmetic. A half-mill EMS tax on that home would add $50 a year; the two-mill referendum ceiling would add $200. The county table's footnote says its figures "do not include any additional fees, such as Trash, Recycling, Fire, EMS, etc.," so any existing per-parcel charges are not reflected in the 4.9. Our rate table compares every Berks municipality.

Robesonia is not alone. Wernersville, which shares the Robesonia-Wernersville Municipal Authority with the borough, put "Discuss EMS Tax. Cannot be a flat fee, must be a millage" on its Nov. 4 agenda, per our preview, and Mohnton took up a 2027 tax increase the same night, per ours.

On Oct. 5, before the tax came up in the minutes, one resident asked in public comment "how EMS billing would be handled for apartments and businesses within the Borough"; the minutes record no answer and do not say whether he meant a tax or ambulance bills.

The police hearing, and a second lawyer

Council held its public hearing on the borough's police services contract early in the Oct. 5 meeting, after approving minutes and bills. President Mark Spotts limited comments to "the contracted hours of service, the types of police services provided, and the handout outlining the current contracted services and hours," per the minutes. Five residents spoke. Three asked for more police hours, each citing speeding; the other two voiced support for police services, and one of them "emphasized the importance of ensuring that borough taxes can cover the cost of the proposed contract." Later in the meeting, during general public comment, three speakers voiced support for SHPD, one of them for the borough "retaining" it. The minutes identify Chief Matthew Hook as South Heidelberg Police Chief.

Council took no public vote on the contract either night. It discussed it in executive session on Oct. 5, with personnel issues and the Furnace Hill lease, and again on Oct. 19. When the workshop reconvened at 9:06 p.m., council acted: "A motion was made by Randy Gartner to hire Mark Merolla as Special Conflict Solicitor for the Borough to review the police contract. Seconded by Jame Burrus. Motion carried. President Spotts will sign the proposal." The minutes spell Burrus's first name that way in every motion; their attendance list says James.

A conflict solicitor is a lawyer a municipality hires for a single matter its regular solicitor cannot handle, usually because that attorney or firm has a conflict of interest. The minutes do not say what the conflict is, what Merolla will be paid or when his review is due. Nothing on the record states the price or hours of the current contract or what change council is weighing, and the hearing handout is not posted.

Separately, council approved the 2027 Minimum Municipal Obligation for the "Western Berks Regional Police Pension Plan" on Oct. 5, the yearly payment state law requires into a police pension plan. The minutes give no amount and do not explain how that plan relates to the South Heidelberg department residents asked council to keep.

Snow emergency ordinance adopted

Under the solicitor's report on Oct. 5, "A motion was made by Jame Burrus to adopt Ordinance 2026-2 as the Boroughs new snow emergency ordinance. Seconded by Randy Gartner. Motion carried." A snow emergency ordinance lets a borough declare an emergency during a storm and order cars off designated streets so plows can clear them, often with towing or fines for cars left behind.

The borough has not posted the text of Ordinance 2026-2. Its ordinances page still summarizes the older rule, Ordinance 2006-4, under which "all vehicles shall be moved from all Borough streets within 12 (twelve) hours following the completion of such snow storm," and Ordinance 1977-25, which requires property owners to clear sidewalks within 24 hours. Whether the new ordinance replaces those rules, which streets it covers and what the penalties are is not on the record.

$201,175.70 released for Maple Avenue Apartments

Also on Oct. 5: "A motion was made by Harvey Marshall to approve the engineer's recommendation for a release of security for Maple Avenue Apartments in the amount of $201,175.70. Seconded by Randy Gartner. Motion carried." A security release returns money a developer posted to guarantee that site work gets finished, once the engineer confirms it is done. It is the developer's money, not borough spending.

A first budget draft, with $0 for shade trees

The Oct. 5 agenda listed "10/05: Tentative Adoption (Move to Advertise) or Revisions" for the 2027 budget. The minutes record less: "Council was presented with the first draft of the 2027 budget," and Spotts asked members to send questions to Borough Manager Elizabeth Miller. No motion to advertise appears in either set of minutes.

On Oct. 19, council "noted that the proposed 2027 budget currently includes $0 for the Shade Tree Commission." Vice President Randy Gartner suggested the commission "remain responsible for maintaining the trees it has planted, while responsibility for all other trees within the planting strip would be transferred to the respective property owners," and recommended "that permits be required for any tree-related work," per the minutes. Council took no vote. The minutes carry no budget total, no spending lines other than that zero, and no millage.

The borough's Nov. 2 agenda, posted Oct. 30, repeats the calendar: advertise Nov. 3, public inspection Nov. 9 to Nov. 20, final adoption Dec. 7. That agenda also lists adoption of an "Ordinance Authorizing Execution of a Comcast Cable Franchise Agreement," a "Soccer Shots Proposal," and a "2027 No Nonsense Neutering Contract." The borough has not posted minutes for Nov. 2, so whether council voted to advertise the budget, what the budget says, and whether the Comcast ordinance passed are not on the record.

Also from the two meetings

• Two Streets Department hires. On Oct. 19, council approved hiring Owen Romberger as a part-time Streets Department employee "working up to 30 hours per week" and James Conway as a casual employee. On Oct. 5 it accepted Jesse Krause's resignation from the department.
• Council bought "ten additional No Nonsense Neutering Vouchers" on Oct. 19 after a resident raised the borough's feral cat issue Oct. 5, and "will consider entering into a new agreement with NNN for 2027." It also approved a laptop "at a cost not to exceed $1,400.00" and a $250 donation to Crime Alert Berks County.
• On the Furnace Hill HOA/Borough garage lease, the Oct. 19 minutes say the borough "will await the Solicitor's official legal opinion before proceeding further." On a Locust Alley paving proposal Oct. 5, Spotts said the solicitor recommended "obtaining a total of three bids before making a decision." No motion was made on either.

What happens next

The 2027 budget is scheduled for public inspection from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20, with final adoption set for Monday, Dec. 7, at council's 7 p.m. meeting, per the Nov. 2 agenda, which does not say where the budget can be inspected; council meets at Robesonia Borough Hall, 75 S. Brooke St. No budget document is posted on the borough's agenda or minutes pages. Residents can speak at any council meeting under the rules printed on each agenda: state your name and address at the podium, with three minutes for a non-agenda item and five for an agenda item. The Shade Tree Commission's zero would be settled in that Dec. 7 budget vote. An EMS readiness tax, or any increase to the 4.9 mills, needs an ordinance under Section 1302(a) of the Borough Code; none is advertised on the Nov. 2 agenda. The police contract review has no public deadline. Our guide covers how to find meeting schedules across Berks.

Sources

• Robesonia Borough Council meeting minutes, Oct. 5, 2026
• Robesonia Borough Council workshop meeting minutes, Oct. 19, 2026
• Robesonia Borough Council agenda, Nov. 2, 2026
• Robesonia Borough Council agenda, Oct. 5, 2026
• Robesonia Borough Council agendas page and minutes page
• Robesonia Borough ordinances page
• Berks County 2026 Tax Rates
• Borough Code, 8 Pa.C.S. § 1302
• Act 54 of 2024
• Berks County Comprehensive Plan 2030 Update, Chapter 1

Robesonia Borough Council President Mark Spotts; Vice President Randy Gartner; Mayor Amanda McGuire; Borough Manager Elizabeth Miller.