Reading held a public hearing on its proposed $284 million budget for 2026, which includes the city’s first property tax increase in four years.
Mayor Eddie Moran formally introduced the budget during the Monday session, describing it as more than a fiscal plan.
“It is a blueprint to the future of a safer, stronger, prouder Reading,” Moran said, “and it is only possible when we stand together.”
Mayor Eddie Moran (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The administration is seeking to raise the property tax rate to 19.261 mills from 18.129 mills, an increase of about $163 annually for a property assessed at $100,000.
Moran said the additional revenue, roughly $2 million, would help the city sustain essential services and meet rising costs.
“For that price, we can fund the services that keep our neighborhoods safe, maintain our infrastructure and move Reading’s comeback forward,” he said.
Finance Director Jamar Kelly previously told City Council that the tax adjustment is intended to help narrow the city’s structural deficit, the gap between recurring revenues and expenditures, and to limit the need for deeper cuts in future years.
During the hearing, Moran said the budget projects over $126 million in general fund revenues and expenditures supported by the careful use of a fund balance to maintain stability and meet growing service demands.
The general fund covers operations such as police, fire, public works and the library system.
The mayor emphasized that personnel costs, which make up more than 70% of expenses, continue to climb due to wages, benefits and pensions.
The proposed budget includes $18 million for infrastructure and community projects, ranging from new fire apparatus and emergency vehicles to the completion of the 18th Ward bike trail, a splash pad at Hillside Playground and the replacement of the aging HVAC system in City Hall, the mayor said.
“These are not just investments in facilities or equipment,” he said. “They are investments in people, in pride, and in the Reading we are becoming.”
The mayor said the city also plans to dedicate $1.35 million to highway improvements, $1.6 million to parks and $300,000 to sustainability initiatives. Additional investments include $2.5 million for fire and EMS equipment and funding for new positions such as a budget analyst and downtown activity coordinator.
Earned income tax collections are expected to reach $28.7 million in 2026, he noted, making them the city’s single largest source of general fund revenue. Real estate taxes are projected at $27.3 million, with other fees and permits also trending upward.
“These resources reflect the resilience of our local economy and the willingness of residents and businesses to invest in Reading’s future,” Moran said.
Every comeback story has a turning point, he said.
“And for Reading this budget represents one of those moments,” Moran said. “We will not be defined by division or by challenges of the past. We will be defined by the comeback we are building block by block, family by family, budget by budget.”
No residents offered comments on the spending plan or related ordinances.
City Council is scheduled to vote on the budget ordinances and related documents on or before Dec. 8.