Sewer rates stay level as board votes ahead RFP for professional consultants
A 2026 budget, with the first tax increase in three years, is now on the books in Towamencin.
Township officials voted Wednesday night to finalize the budget, with no major changes or comments since it was outlined last month.
“Highlights include a real estate tax millage increase of seven percent, borrowing $5 million for 15 years, no sewer rental fee increase, and maintaining the homestead-slash-farmstead exemption of $50,000,” said board Chair Joyce Snyder.
Starting in October staff hosted, and the board took part in, a series of public budget workshops meant to detail and field feedback on the budget for the upcoming year. During those talks, staff said in November, current tax levels would yield a roughly $849,000 deficit in 2026, due to increased costs for the pool, fire, and debt service funds, and the total general fund reserves at the end of 2026 were projected to dip from just over $2 million, down to $1.4 million.
Department heads also presented a list of roughly $10.7 million in total capital project requests, including $4.6 million for the township’s sewer plant and infrastructure, another $2.3 million for stormwater work, and just over $1 million each for roadwork and park projects.
Those budget talks also included several tax scenarios for board consideration, and the board ultimately settled on a proposed 7 percent increase would yield just under $350,000 in new revenue and cost the average homeowner an additional $64 without the exemption or $44 with it. For the long-term capital, the $5 million borrowing would cost $1,088 or $73 per year, and would be wrapped around existing debt as it falls off in upcoming years.
Since being advertised for public discussion in November, one minor change has been made, the board discussed on Dec. 10 supervisor Chuck Wilson asked if the latest draft of the budget had included a change to allocate all revenue from the township’s fire tax allocation to the fire fund, and finance director Eric Reinbott said that change had been made.
“We allocated the millage shift, so it would fund their full request,” Reinbott said. Budget documents posted by the township indicate a total fire tax revenue of just under $248,000 projected for 2026, up from a projected $230,000 in 2025, roughly $233,000 in 2024 and roughly $72,000 in 2023.
Sewer sale still a topic
Several other unanimous votes followed, including votes to set the tax rate at 6.089 mills, including the 7 percent increase for 2026, and to keep the homestead and farmstead exemptions at $50,000 each, which residents can deduct while calculating their local tax bills. The board also voted unanimously to keep the township’s sewer rate at $590, a topic of lengthy discussion during the sewer sale debate that began in 2020, when that rate had been held level at $375 annually from 2008 through 2021, then was increased to $450 starting in 2022, then to $590 for 2024, and projections from buyers of the system could have raised those rates to over $1,000 per year.
Another sewer-related item also drew discussion from the board: a unanimous vote authorized a transfer of $3 million from sewer capital reserves into the operational budget before revenue begins to flow into that fund, in lieu of a tax anticipation note or TAN from an outside bank that could carry additional fees and costs. Supervisor Kofi Osei asked if that authorization would “cause any problems for 2026” as the board is in the process of dissolving the Towamencin Municipal Authority that oversees the sewer plant in the wake of the sale debate, and Snyder and Wilson said that was unclear.
“Sewer is 100 percent separate, in terms of the money, every penny is kept separate. If you’re talking about the ability to do a TAN, you wouldn’t be able to: you would have to borrow from the authority,” Wilson said.
Township Manager David Kraynik added that staff will evaluate in 2026 whether a TAN would be necessary if expenses exceed revenues in early 2027, and said reserves already in township accounts could be used to fill any gaps instead.
“If our fund balance is in a healthy position, as it has been the last several years, we probably won’t even need to consider a TAN. It’s certainly something that, if we can avoid, we will, because there’s no reason to incur the fees,” Kraynik said.
Other year-end approvals from the board included an updated fee schedule, investment policy, public comment policy, and cancellation of the scheduled Dec. 23 meeting due to a lack of action items.
Changes coming?
Snyder also proposed an item that could lead to changes in the upcoming year: an authorization to seek RFPs for several township consultants, as the November election victory of incoming supervisors Vanessa Gaynor and Courtney Morgan will give the board a Democratic majority for the first time in recent memory once they’re sworn in at the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting.
“As a best practice to better ensure fairness and transparency, I have recommended the township staff seek requests for proposals from the township professional consultants, including solicitor, engineer, traffic engineer, sewer engineer and municipal planner,” Snyder said.
Outgoing supervisor Amer Barghouth said he thought the board should consider one more expert given the large number of developments proposed over the past several months.
“I think a lot of issues in the meetings were related to conservation and biodiversity, so maybe a biodiversity expert or consultant?” he said, and Snyder answered, “We’ll think about it.” Supervisor Kristin Warner, who will be the lone Republican on the board come January, said she thought all current consultants “have done an excellent job,” and Snyder said she agreed.
To close the meeting, Osei offered farewells to the two departing members, starting with Barghouth who was appointed in May after the resignation of then-supervisor Laura Smith over a viral Tiktok video.
“I want to thank supervisor Barghouth for stepping up, since this will be our last meeting with him,” Osei said, adding that he “really appreciate(d) that fresh, new perspective.”
He then also thanked Wilson, who was first elected to the board in 2001 and was reelected for four terms before falling to two Republican challengers in the May primary this year in the aftermath of the sewer sale debate.
“Maybe surprisingly, but I’d also like to thank supervisor Wilson for serving all these years. I disagree with you on a lot, but I don’t know that I’d be up here if he wasn’t here, and I do appreciate anyone willing to serve their community.”
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2026. For more information visit www.Towamencin.org.
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