Sinking Spring Trash, Sewer Hikes; Shillington Budget Vote

Four Berks County governments take up 2027 money questions tonight, Thursday, Nov. 12, and three of them have posted no figure for the decision that matters most to residents; only Cumru Township has a draft on its website, and it shows a $923,263 general fund gap. Sinking Spring Borough Council's agenda lists "Approve Trash and Sewer Rate Increases" with no amounts. Shillington Borough Council is set to adopt a tentative 2027 budget that is not posted. Upper Bern Township's supervisors list "2027 Budget: Possible adoption" with no budget document. Cumru's commissioners hold their second budget discussion, a day after the township sought proposals for a Lancaster Pike master plan.

Two other townships hold data center hearings tonight. Maidencreek's supervisors meet at 6 p.m. and could adopt Ordinance 263, as our preview reported, and Tilden's meet at 7 p.m. on an amended agenda that now adds "Adopt Ordinance #260-2026, Setting specific regulations for Data Centers," as our Tilden preview reported.

Sinking Spring: rate increases with no numbers

The borough's one-page agenda, posted Wednesday afternoon, puts the rate vote first under new business: "Approve Trash and Sewer Rate Increases." It prints no current rate, proposed rate or effective date. Under unfinished business, council takes up "Budgets – Review and Approve Advertising," the step that opens a draft budget to public inspection before a final vote; the agenda does not say when that vote would come, and the borough's budgets page says "No documents found." This is the second step: the Oct. 8 agenda listed "Budgets - Review Drafts of 2027 Proposed Budgets" and a "PMRS Police Pension Plan Amendment Reducing the Employee Contribution Rate to .5% for 2027."

What residents pay for sewer now is on the borough site. The water and sewer page links Resolution 2022-16, adopted Dec. 8, 2022, which moved sewer billing to monthly starting Jan. 1, 2023 (p. 1). Its rate sheet sets a residential base rate of $25.00 per EDU plus $5.42 per 1,000 gallons of water used, with flat-rate customers at $47.50 per EDU (p. 2). An EDU, or equivalent dwelling unit, is one typical home's worth of sewage. That is the newest rate document on the page; whether council changed the rate since is not posted. Trash is thinner. The trash and recycling page links Ordinance 646-2021, enacted Oct. 7, 2021 (p. 11), which requires owners or occupants "to pay for and to receive municipal solid waste collection" without naming an amount, sets a $50-a-year permit fee for properties that must hire a private collector (p. 5) and a ticket schedule from a written warning up to $900 (p. 11), but no household collection fee; no trash fee is posted anywhere on the site, so there is no public baseline for tonight's increase.

The rest of the agenda is sewer repairs and money going back to developers: a "Sewer Jetter Repairs Estimate" of $38,806.86, a "24 Woodrow Ave. Sewer Lateral Repair" of $31,175.00 (a lateral is the pipe from a building to the main), and two escrow releases under the engineer's report, $14,300.00 for "Sunrise Apartment" and $35,763.86 for Chase Bank. An escrow release returns part of the deposit a developer posts to guarantee site work, once the engineer confirms the work is done. Also listed: a "PPL Street Light Services Agreement and Resolution" with no cost shown, a "Cacoosing Avenue No Parking Update" and an executive session on personnel. In September council set $123,271 in 2027 pension payments, as our recap reported.

Shillington: a tentative budget, three grant bids and $179,756 back

Shillington's agenda, posted Wednesday on the link the borough reuses each month, lists under the manager's report "Adoption/Authorization of the tentative 2027 Budget." A tentative budget is the draft council approves so it can be advertised and opened to public inspection before a final vote; it can still change. No figures, tax rate or document accompany the item. A budget workshop follows Nov. 17 at 4 p.m., after the tentative vote rather than before it. That is last year's sequence: on Nov. 13, 2025, council "adopted the 2026 Tentative Budget, as presented, and authorized its advertising," a $13,049,900 total with a $4,995,400 general fund and "no proposed tax increase," per the minutes (p. 5); a workshop followed Nov. 18 at 4 p.m., and on Dec. 11 council adopted the budget and set the rate at 7.14 mills, per the December minutes (pp. 2, 4). The borough's tax page breaks the 7.14 mills into 5.45 general, 1.0 streets, .19 recreation and .50 fire; the December minutes list 5.64 general, 1.00 streets and .5 fire with no recreation line (p. 2), a difference neither document explains.

Three resolutions, Nos. 11-2026, 12-2026 and 13-2026, authorize applications for what the agenda calls "Statewide Local Share Assessment" grants, for "a fleet upgrade to revive aging equipment," "an environmental equipment upgrade" and "an emergency vehicle fleet upgrade to revive aging equipment." No amounts are listed. The state's Local Share Account Statewide program distributes gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority "to support projects in the public interest," per the Department of Community and Economic Development's program page.

The money items are specific. The manager reports $52,574.25 in earned income tax and a "PMHIC Surplus Distribution" of $179,755.86; the agenda does not spell out the acronym. Under "Confirmation of Bills: October 31, 2026 Financial Statements," it prints $560,274.89 for the General Fund, $316,255.43 for the Water Fund, $251,627.39 for the Sewer Fund, $25,979.17 for Recreation, $9,999.97 for Fire and $4,225.35 for Streets Improvement, without saying whether those are bills to pay or fund balances. Council also lists amended 2026 statements "based on 2025 audit changes made by auditor," the 2025 audit report and $9,691.96 in police overtime.

Council will consider "Letter of Credit Release Request No. 2" for the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood project, $121,158.83. A letter of credit is a bank's promise to pay the borough if a developer fails to finish required improvements; each release shrinks it as work is accepted. On Sept. 10 council released $184,528.33 from a letter of credit for the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood project, as our recap reported. Also listed: an update on the 2027 EMS agreement with TowerDirect, a liquor license transfer for Flanagan's Pub, and an "Update on 200 West Lancaster Avenue," the property whose owner, our September recap said, "will handle demolition of the porches and renovation of the building."

Upper Bern: a laundromat hearing, then a possible budget vote

Upper Bern posts both of tonight's agendas as one scanned PDF. Page 1 is the "Continuation of the Public Hearing for Abrams Patel 2, LLC," which "seeks the following zoning conditional use approval from the provisions of the Township Zoning Ordinance Section 405.D regarding Uses by Conditional Use for the proposed operation of a laundromat as an additional principal use on the subject property," plus any other relief needed. A conditional use is one the township can approve only after the applicant proves at a public hearing that it meets a written list of extra standards. The township's hearing notice identifies the property as 5652 Old Route 22, Shartlesville, and says the hearing, first set for Feb. 12, was "Continued until November 12, 2026, at 6:00 PM." The agenda ends with "Close or Continue Public Hearing," so a decision is not promised.

Page 2 is the supervisors' meeting. Under business: "2027 Budget: Possible adoption." The supervisors page links no budget, and the agenda lists no total or tax rate; the board held a budget workshop at 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 8, whose minutes are up for approval tonight. The solicitor's report lists the "Kenworth of Pa Land Development Improvement Agreement," which "Expires 11/12/26," with a "90-Day Extension Requested," a delinquent wastewater account update and a "Kauffman Lane Agreement Update," each with possible action. Also listed: 2027 meeting dates, an Animal Rescue League contract for 2027 and an "On-Lot Pumping Waiver for 291 Valley Road," a septic-pumping waiver. After the call to order, the agenda lists an executive session "to discuss possible litigation" and notes one held Oct. 26 with "No action taken." The board's last big zoning vote was Sept. 10, when it adopted data center and solar rules, as our recap reported.

Cumru: round two on the budget, and a plan for the Pike

Cumru's budget agenda, posted Wednesday afternoon, is discussion only: the police department's general fund and capital budgets, the fire funds, the ambulance fund, highway and sewer, state liquid fuels, buildings and grounds, and parks and recreation (p. 1). No figures appear. The draft budget linked beside the agenda on the homepage, still dated Oct. 28, shows general fund revenue of $11,308,646 against expense of $12,231,909, a $923,263 gap, with the police expense line rising from $7,222,461 to $8,097,129, up $874,668, or about 12% by our arithmetic (pp. 2, 26), as our Nov. 5 preview reported. The board took up $1,191,804 in 2027 pension payments Oct. 20, per our October preview. The regular meeting is Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. and a third budget meeting Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. (p. 2).

The township also posted a 13-page request for proposals for a Lancaster Pike master plan, issued Nov. 11. The plan would cover the Pike "from approximately Wilma Avenue to Revere Boulevard" and turn what the RFP calls a "car-centric, disjointed commercial strip" into "a walkable, mixed-use destination" (p. 3). The consultant would analyze land use, traffic, sidewalks and utilities, hold two in-person community meetings, deliver at least three photorealistic renderings and an implementation strategy with cost estimates, and provide "recommendations for the establishment of a redevelopment authority" (pp. 4-5, 7-9). Proposals are due Monday, Nov. 30, at 4 p.m., one copy by e-mail and one hard copy with a sealed cost proposal (p. 1). The RFP gives two question deadlines: the cover and the schedule say Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. (pp. 1, 5), while section 1.6 says questions "must be received by 4:00 p.m. on November 13, 2026" and later ones "will not receive any responses" (p. 7). The document does not reconcile them. Selection is expected in January 2027 (p. 5) and completion by Jan. 31, 2028 (p. 9). The RFP states no budget for the study; it says the work "is funded through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development Commonwealth Financing Authority Local Share Account – Statewide Program" (p. 5). The township's draft capital plan listed the Lancaster Pike Master Plan at $350,000, "shown as grant funded," as our Nov. 5 preview reported.

How to attend or comment

• Cumru Township commissioners, 6 p.m., per the Nov. 5 agenda ("11/12/26 at 6:00 p.m."), at the township building, 1775 Welsh Road, Mohnton, per the homepage. Comment is in person only; speakers give a first name, last name and address, get three minutes, and the comment period is capped at 60 minutes unless the board extends it (p. 1).
• Upper Bern Township supervisors, 6 p.m., township building, 25 N. 5th St., Shartlesville, per the supervisors page, which lists the meeting and the hearing both at 6 p.m.; the hearing agenda is printed first. The office answers at 610-488-1191.
• Sinking Spring council, 7 p.m., Borough Hall, 3940 Penn Ave., per the borough's meeting dates page and homepage calendar. The agenda lists no location; the only venue-change notice on the homepage is for the Oct. 8 meeting, moved to the Freight House. The office answers at 610-678-4903.
• Shillington council, 7:30 p.m., per the borough's minutes and reports page, which lists no room. Town Hall is at 2 E. Lancaster Ave., 610-777-1338, per the homepage.

None of tonight's agendas mentions a property tax rate. The county's 2026 tax table lists 7.66 mills in Sinking Spring, 7.14 in Shillington, 1.41 in Upper Bern and 6.5 in Cumru, as does our guide.