St. Lawrence Eyes 1-Mill Tax Hike and $14 Sewer Rate

St. Lawrence Borough Council meets tonight with three bills in front of it that would cost homeowners more in 2027: a higher general property tax, a higher fire tax, and a sewer charge that would jump from $8.50 to $14.00 per 1,000 gallons. The borough's two fire companies are asking for the fire-tax increase, and council has three ways to answer them, according to the Nov. 12 agenda, a five-page document marked updated Nov. 11.

The tax and sewer ordinances and the budgets are up for votes to advertise, the step before a final vote at a later meeting the agenda does not name; last year the 2026 rates were on council's Dec. 11 agenda for adoption (p. 2). The fire-tax decision could be settled tonight only under the first or third motion; the second sends a counteroffer back to the fire companies (p. 3). The vote creating a new borough municipal authority would be final.

What it would cost on a $100,000 home

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Ordinance 466, the 2027 real estate tax ordinance council is asked to advertise, sets the general borough rate at 8.5 mills, keeps the emergency medical services tax at 0.50 mills, and leaves the fire rate to be filled in by whichever fire-tax motion passes (agenda, pp. 3-4).

This year's rates come from Resolution 927-2025 on council's Dec. 11, 2025 agenda: 7.50 mills general, 0.72 mills fire and 0.5 mills EMS (p. 2). Those minutes are not posted, but the county's 2026 tax-rate table lists the borough at 7.5 mills, a figure the county says excludes fire and EMS levies. On a home assessed at $100,000:

• General tax: 7.5 mills is $750 a year now; 8.5 mills would be $850, or $100 more.
• Fire tax: 0.72 mills is $72 now. The 0.74-mill option would be $74; the fire companies' 0.89 mills would be $89 in 2027 and their 1.06 mills would be $106 in 2028.
• EMS tax: 0.50 mills stays $50.

Add them up and the borough's share of that homeowner's bill goes from $872 this year to $974 under the lowest fire option or $989 under the fire companies' proposal, before county and school taxes, which are set separately. Our guides explain how a Berks property tax bill is split and list every municipality's 2026 rates. In 2022 the borough's tax ordinance set 7.00 mills general and 0.68 mills fire (p. 1).

The fire companies' ask and council's three choices

The borough's fire protection from the Exeter and Mt. Penn fire companies runs under a 2023 request for proposals, or RFP, the document a government issues when it asks for bids. Years four through six are option years, years the borough can extend the deal at a rate already written into it. The agenda says the companies' new proposal is "to increase the fire tax rate to 0.89 Mills in 2027 and 1.06 Mills in 2028 in lieu of asking for radio subsidies through the General Fund" (p. 3). The proposal letter itself is not posted.

Council has three potential motions (p. 3):

• Turn the proposal down and stay with the 2023 RFP's first option year at 0.74 mills.
• Counter with a rate between 0.74 and 0.89 mills, written into Resolution 952-2026 for the fire companies to act on.
• Accept the proposal through Resolution 950-2026.

Every one of those choices is above this year's 0.72 mills. The borough's 2025 fire-tax budget, the newest posted, listed the levy at $51,053, or $50,484.30 after a $981.59 discount line and $412.89 of prior-year collections, with $19,000 paid to each fire company (p. 1).

The ask follows a running conversation about the fire and EMS funds. Council's Sept. 10 agenda listed a finance discussion on "what to do with EMS and Fire Tax surplus," saying budgeted items for 2026 were covered, "leaving several thousand in additional funds," with a motion to keep a $500 minimum balance in each fund and send the extra to the emergency agencies for new equipment (p. 2). The same agenda carried the Exeter fire chief's request that the borough keep filing LSA grants on the company's behalf (p. 3). The Sept. 10 minutes are not posted, so the outcome of those motions is unknown. The fire fund held $3,064.10 on Oct. 31 (Nov. 12 agenda, p. 2).

The radios are also on the agenda as a separate item. Item 6 says Mt. Penn Fire Company and Central Berks police are asking for money toward the county radio system's "radio refresh": $12,854.22 in one payment for three police radios, and $4,000 a year for five years to Mt. Penn Fire toward upgrading 30 radios, both from the general fund (p. 4). The agenda does not say whether the $4,000-a-year payment would go away if council accepts the fire-tax proposal offered "in lieu of" radio subsidies.

Sewer bills: the second increase this year

Ordinance 467, up for advertising, would keep the base sewer charge at $39.45 a quarter and set the processing charge at $14.00 per 1,000 gallons (agenda, p. 4). Council set the current rates in June: Ordinance 463, enacted June 11, raised the base from $37.50 to $39.45 and the per-thousand-gallon charge from $7.50 to $8.50. The new ordinance would raise the per-gallon charge again, by $5.50, or 65 percent, while the base stays put.

The effect depends on how much water a household uses. As an example, a customer billed for 10,000 gallons in a quarter pays $124.45 today ($39.45 plus $85.00). Under the proposed rate that quarter would cost $179.45 ($39.45 plus $140.00), which is $55.00 more per quarter and $220 more a year. The agenda gives no reason for the change. The sewer fund held $258,275.20 on Oct. 31 (p. 2).

Council will also discuss sewer liens on accounts more than $200 behind with no payment in 180 days (item 9, p. 4). A lien is a legal claim recorded against a property for an unpaid debt, which must be settled before the property can be sold or refinanced. The property list is in council's packet, which is not posted.

The 2027 budgets: no numbers yet

Council is asked to approve preliminary 2027 budgets for the general, sewer, liquid fuels, fire tax and EMS tax funds and to advertise them (item 1, p. 3). The agenda prints no budget figures, and the borough's budgets page still shows the 2025 preliminary budgets as its newest. The Oct. 8 agenda listed budget work sessions on Oct. 28 and Nov. 2 (p. 2); no record of them is posted. Council is also asked to close two unused reserve accounts at Mid Penn Bank and move the money to the borough's PLGIT accounts (item 5, p. 4).

The treasurer's report shows total fund balances of $1,064,498.88 on Oct. 31, including $375,237.00 in the general fund and $290,556.18 in reserve accounts, and a "135 N. Prospect Loan Balance" of $554,542.13 (p. 2).

A $1 million ask for the playground

Resolution 951-2026 would apply for $1,000,000 for Phase 1 of a playground rehabilitation project through the Local Share Account, or LSA, a state grant program that distributes gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (agenda item 8, p. 4). The agenda does not describe the project or say what the borough would contribute.

Traffic cameras, a garage heater and the Comcast deal

Item 12 asks council to sign a "VIPR Camera Hosting and Cost Sharing Agreement" with the Central Berks Police Commission. The agenda says a 2022 agreement, part of a Berks County District Attorney initiative, put police tools on borough-owned traffic signals under a five-year contract that required the borough to pay for the final two and a half years. The agenda says "there is no evidence of the contract other than parts of communication acknowledging its existence," so the borough wants a written agreement to create an audit trail. It would owe $11,850 for 2026-27 and 2027-28 (p. 5).

Smaller spending: M&M Mechanical's $6,755 quote to install a heater in the public works garage, the lowest received, and ABBI Electric's labor-only offer to wire the garage at $85 an hour, capped at $2,000 (items 10-11, p. 5). Council is also asked to accept a Comcast franchise agreement, the contract that lets the cable company use borough rights of way; its terms are not in the agenda (p. 2), and the same motion appeared on the Sept. 10 agenda (p. 2).

The municipal authority hearing

The night opens at 6:30 p.m. with a public hearing on Ordinance 464, which creates the St. Lawrence Borough Municipal Authority, a separate public body with its own board that can run services such as sewer, stormwater, water, roads and public works. We previewed the plan and the five proposed board members in October (St. Lawrence Moves to Create Its Own Municipal Authority). The agenda says council approved the intent in September, notices ran Oct. 8 in a law journal (the agenda says the Pennsylvania Law Journal; the notice we read ran in the Berks County Law Journal) and Oct. 9 in the Reading Eagle, and the papers were filed with the Secretary of State on Oct. 9. After public comment, council votes on adoption (p. 1).

The solicitor, Joan London, will also give an update on the borough's litigation with Mt. Penn Borough and the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority, which supplies the borough's water (p. 2). Council voted in August to ask a court to let it join that case; our report on the water fight explains what is at stake for ratepayers. A closed executive session on litigation and real estate is set for the end of the meeting (p. 5).

Also on the agenda

• Ordinance 465, a "Quality of Life" property-maintenance ordinance with a ticket-and-fine process, is back under old business with the same motion to advertise that appeared on the Oct. 8 agenda. October's minutes are not posted, so it is unclear whether the earlier vote happened (p. 3).
• A plan to advertise two meeting dates each for May through August 2027, with the third Thursday as the alternate, because of quorum problems (p. 4).
• The Planning Commission meets Nov. 19 on two zoning variance requests (p. 3).

How to attend or comment

The agenda lists the meeting for Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m., starting with the Ordinance 464 hearing; the regular meeting follows "after the conclusion of the public hearing" (p. 1). Earlier agendas list council's monthly meetings at 7:30 p.m., so arrive by 6:30 for the hearing. Meetings are held at the Borough Municipal Building, 135 N. Prospect St., Reading, PA 19606, and streamed on the borough's YouTube channel. The hearing has its own public comment period, and the regular agenda has a public comment item after the treasurer's report (pp. 1-2). The borough office can be reached at (610) 779-1430; office hours and a contact form are on the borough's contact page. Ordinances 465, 466 and 467 and the budgets, if advertised tonight, come back for final votes at a later meeting the agenda does not name.