Rockland Township Keeps $88K Health Plan, Seeks Truck Grant

Rockland Township's supervisors renewed the township's Capital Blue Cross health plan on Sept. 14 at a cost of about $88,000 a year, passing on an Aetna plan that would have cost about $68,000, according to the minutes of the Sept. 14 meeting, posted this week, which the board was scheduled to approve Oct. 12. The same minutes show the township finishing a $99,901.45 state grant application for a new pickup truck, which the board had approved in August, and putting a 2009 dump truck up for auction.

The Aetna option closest to the current plan was not identical to it and would be self-funded, so in the event of a major injury or illness "there would likely be a significant increase in plan costs with Aetna (or perhaps even cancelling of the coverage)." Both figures exclude deductibles. A resident who works in medical billing told the board that in her experience Capital Blue Cross pays its bills and Aetna tends to fight them. Vice Chairman Nathan Ohlinger made the motion, Supervisor Ericka Thomas-Ernst seconded, and the board approved the Capital Blue Cross Bronze PPO plan for Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, with all in favor.

The board had asked its broker, Gerhart, Hartman & Ritner, for other options in August after the current plan proposed an increase of about 30.83 percent, according to the Aug. 10 minutes. Neither set of minutes says how many employees are covered.

$99,901 grant for a 2027 Ram 3500

The township is seeking $99,901.45 through what the minutes call a "County LSA" grant toward a 2027 Ram 3500, including upfitting, to replace a 2015 Chevy pickup. The Local Share Account, or LSA, is a state grant program that distributes casino gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The application window the township cited, July 1 to Sept. 30, matches the state's Category 4 Facilities program, which is open to local governments in Berks, Cumberland, Westmoreland and York counties, according to the Department of Community and Economic Development. That program's guidelines list vehicle purchases as an eligible use and say no local match is required.

The board approved Resolution 2026-12 requesting the grant on Aug. 10. On Sept. 14, Secretary/Treasurer Karen Krall was still preparing the application and had requested a letter of support from Sen. Tracy Pennycuick's office. The Oct. 12 agenda says it went in Sept. 25. It is an application, not an award.

An earlier application did come through: the Oct. 12 agenda says the township learned Sept. 15 that its 2025 statewide LSA request for $362,478 toward a new ambulance for Topton Ambulance was approved.

Dump truck on the auction block

Roadmaster Michael Pott estimated the township's 2009 Chevy dump truck and plow is worth $18,000 to $23,000. The board set a reserve price of $17,500 and authorized its sale on Municibid, an online government auction site, with bidding closing Oct. 12 at 3 p.m.; a public notice says any sale is subject to board approval. The Oct. 12 agenda lists an award to the highest bidder if the reserve was met. The outcome is not yet documented.

Shared roller with three neighbors

Rockland approved its roughly $15,000 share of a used roller to be bought jointly with Hereford Township, Longswamp Township and Topton Borough, at a total estimated cost of $55,000 split four ways; the minutes note the 2026 budget already set aside $20,000 for it. Hereford approved its $15,000 share on Sept. 1, as our Hereford recap reported. Longswamp's solicitor said the purchase would still need to be bid, per our Longswamp preview, and Longswamp's vote on the joint-purchase resolution was deferred to Nov. 10 after it canceled its Oct. 27 meeting.

Pension, library and other business

• The board approved the 2027 minimum municipal obligation, or MMO, the amount it must pay into its employee pension plan each year, at $27,976 for the non-uniformed pension plan.
• Melissa Hartman of the Brandywine Community Library thanked the township for its $7,200 donation this year and asked for $9,115 in 2027. No decision was recorded; the library was on the Oct. 12 agenda again.
• The board added the township's Act 537 sewage plan to the agenda and voted to arrange a conference call with Sen. Pennycuick's office and a separate executive session with Gus Meyer. The Oct. 12 agenda notes executive sessions on Sept. 30 and Oct. 12 to discuss litigation over the Act 537 plan and 22 Lobachsville Road, and lists stream sampling by the sewage enforcement officer and an evaluation by a geologist, Samuel Baughman II of Lancaster Geological Solutions, as next steps on the plan.
• Unpaid bills of $47,703.06 were approved. Township accounts totaled $5,452,911.09 as of Aug. 31.

What happens next

The board met Oct. 12; those minutes are not yet posted, so the dump-truck sale, the library request and a $30,000 Breidegam Family Foundation pass-through to the Lyons Fire Company truck fund, all on that agenda, remain undocumented. The 2027 budget meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m., and the next regular meeting is Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., according to the 2026 meeting schedule. Agendas post on the township homepage. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule.