West Reading OKs Union Deals; Police Renovation Tops $1M

West Reading Borough Council approved new three-year contracts with its Teamsters-represented employees and its police officers on Sept. 15, both running Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2029, and heard from its engineer that plans to renovate the police station now run past $1 million, according to the minutes of the meeting, posted Oct. 21. The same night council moved $1.4 million out of a state investment pool to pay bills and ratified sending its draft data center ordinance to county planners to beat a December deadline.

All seven members were present, and every vote that night and at a 10-minute second meeting Sept. 22 was 7-0. Borough Manager Randall Miller was absent Sept. 15; Council President Ryan Lineaweaver reviewed the manager's action items. An executive session beforehand covered "labor negotiations, potential litigation, real estate, and personnel matters" (p. 1).

Two union contracts, no terms

A collective bargaining agreement is the contract between the borough and a union that sets pay, benefits and work rules. The minutes say "Teamsters have reviewed and approved their side of the contract," and record a "Motion to approve the Teamsters Collective Bargaining Agreement effective January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2029," then a "Motion to approve the Police Department Collective Bargaining Agreement effective January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2029" (p. 3). There were "no questions or comments" on either.

The minutes print no terms: no raises, no benefit changes, no cost to the borough. Neither contract appears among the borough website's recent uploads as of Oct. 23. A resident can ask for them under the state's Right-to-Know Law, which covers boroughs as well as the county; our guide to filing a request explains how.

A police station job over $1 million

Engineer Pamela Stevens "discussed Police Department renovation plans exceeding $1,000,000," along with a $4,000 engineering proposal to review cost estimates with an architect for a grant application. Council voted to "authorize Systems Design Engineering, Inc. to prepare certified cost estimates, not to exceed $4,000, for the Police Department Renovations Grant Application to the Statewide Local Share Account" (p. 2). That is the only vote on the renovation; council did not approve the project or a budget for it.

The Local Share Account is a state grant program funded by casino gaming revenue and run through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, according to the Department of Community and Economic Development. As our Oct. 20 preview reported, requests are capped at $1 million, need no local match and are due by Nov. 30, and the Oct. 20 agenda asked council to have the police chief complete the application. Oct. 20 minutes are not posted; the borough's events calendar links a recording of that meeting, which we have not reviewed, so the outcome is not yet in a written record.

$1.4 million moved, $324,000 explained

Assistant Treasurer Helen Moyer "requested to transfer $1,400,000 to cover the 433 Penn Avenue bond expense of $118,000, the Green Light-Go Year 9 second payment application of $110,000, and the purchase of a dump truck totaling $96,000," and council approved "the transfer of $1,400,000 from PLGIT Prime to M&T General Fund" (p. 7). PLGIT is the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust, a pooled fund that invests short-term cash for Pennsylvania local governments, per its website. The three items add up to $324,000, far less than $1.4 million; the minutes do not say what the rest covers, and they do not explain the 433 Penn Avenue bond. "Grant reimbursements are planned for reinvestment in PLGIT Prime," they add. The $96,000 is close to the $96,636 dump-body price in an August purchase: on Aug. 18 council voted 7-0 to buy a replacement dump truck from Tom Masano Ford for "not to exceed $82,827," with a dump body from E.M. Kutz, Inc. priced at $96,636, "for a total of $179,463, which is under the budgeted amount of $210,000" (Aug. 18 minutes, p. 6). The September minutes do not say whether this is that purchase.

The Finance Committee reported its sweep account "is currently earning over 3%, up from the 1.5% earnings in money market funds," with "an additional $23,000 in interest income" so far, and said it "reviewed increases and changes in the draft 2027 budget." No budget figures are given (p. 7).

Traffic signals, nearly done

Green Light-Go is PennDOT's grant for upgrading existing traffic signals (program page). Council approved "Telco, Inc. Change Order No. 1, increasing the Green Light-Go contract price by $606.92 and revising the total contract amount to $150,802.47," and Payment Application No. 2 of $110,923.29. "A retainage of $7,540.12 will be held until PennDOT approves the installation and all closeout documents are received" (p. 2). Retainage is money held back until a contractor finishes.

Data center draft goes to the county

Lineaweaver reported that "To meet the short time period allowed to adopt a curative zoning amendment, the Commission decided to forward the draft data center ordinance to the Berks County Planning Commission for its required 30-day review and comment period," and council voted to "ratify the decision to forward the Data Center draft to the Berks County Planning Commission for their review" (p. 6). The short period is the 180-day clock the borough started June 23, which ends Dec. 20; our preview explains it, and the Oct. 20 agenda asked council to ratify a revised draft and advertise a hearing; the borough's calendar marks the Oct. 10 budget meeting, whose agenda first carried the revised draft, "Canceled," making Oct. 20 the first council meeting on the calendar after that. West Reading's place among the county's data center rules is in our data center tracker. The same report said three family-owned parcels at Second Avenue and Chestnut Street, "totaling 30,000 square feet," are eyed for apartments or townhomes, with a parking question (p. 6).

A new tree for 433 Penn Avenue

On Sept. 22, Recreation Director Michael Esterly said the Delany Circle Christmas tree was "damaged by the car as it drove through Delany Circle." Council approved "a 22-foot-tall, multi-colored panel tree on a COSTARS contract from Display Sales for a cost not to exceed $13,502," shipping included (pp. 1-2). COSTARS is the state's cooperative purchasing program, which lets local governments buy from state-managed contracts without running their own competitive bidding, per the Department of General Services. The minutes say "the insurance for the damaged tree was $16,500"; the tree goes on the lot at 433 Penn Avenue this year, with a Delany Circle tree "at some point in the future" (p. 1). Council also approved "additional help from the Fire Police for the Hospital Road Run" (p. 2).

Also at the Sept. 15 meeting

• Officer Brandon Breitenstein, "first on the Civil Service Commission certified list," was promoted to sergeant effective Sept. 28 (pp. 4-5).
• A PowerReady police training module: $2,462.31 this year, $2,238.55 next year, then "full price at $4,367" (p. 5).
• A new website host at "around $720 per year, with $700 in support credit," and a Fraser copier agreement saving $1,284.60 a year (p. 3).
• PennDOT repairs to the Route 422 bridge over First Avenue; the Bertolet Fishing Dock and its lot "should remain accessible" (p. 2).
• A trout mural near the firehouse: Michael McLaughlin of the Tulpehocken Chapter of Trout Unlimited offered to fund half, with the borough's $1,500 share to come from fundraising, targeted for spring 2027 (p. 3).
• Avery Hayward, a Wyomissing Area senior, appointed Junior Council Person (p. 2); a real estate transfer tabled for executive session (p. 3).
• Resident James Rogers said in public comment that 78 Business Privilege Tax accounts from 2024 are "working through the court system," 406 are delinquent for 2025, and Berkheimer issued 539 licenses in 2025 against 426 in 2026 (p. 1). The figures are his as recorded, not the borough's.

What happens next

A public information session on the environmental cleanup of the Palmer site, 100-118 Franklin Street, is set for Monday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. at the firehouse (p. 3). The borough's calendar lists it as a special council meeting at the West Reading Fire Company, 223 Playground Drive, where B5 Holding, LLC will present the remediation completed under the state's Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act, known as Act 2, and the Final Report it plans to submit to the Department of Environmental Protection. The council page lists a 6 p.m. meeting Oct. 27, which the Finance Committee's Oct. 15 agenda lists among the "2027 Draft Budget" meetings; no Oct. 27 agenda was posted as of Oct. 23. The next regular meeting is Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, 500 Chestnut St., with a budget workshop Nov. 7 at 9 a.m. and a meeting Nov. 24 at 6 p.m.

Two drafts posted Oct. 21 point to later votes: a street-closure rewrite that would raise the default fine from $25 to $50, add a $60 fee for closing a state road and require $1 million in liability insurance, with staff questions still written into the text; and a handicapped-parking ordinance, dated for enactment Nov. 17, relocating one space on Tulpehocken Avenue and removing two on Sycamore Road and one on Chestnut Street. Other Berks meeting days are in our meeting schedule guide.