Reading City Council continued its review of the proposed 2027 budget last week, examining plans to draw $12.45 million from city reserves and considering funding for housing, homelessness services, code enforcement and neighborhood improvements.<\/p>\n
During a public hearing, Finance Director Joseph Famiglietti presented a balanced $129.25 million general fund budget and a $12.43 million capital budget covering 22 projects.<\/p>\n
Famiglietti said the city\u2019s general fund balance is approximately $48.95 million, based on preliminary figures from the ongoing 2025 audit. That includes $13.7 million assigned to cover the projected 2026 deficit, $989,000 in restricted funds and $34.27 million unassigned.<\/p>\n
Councilman Jaime Baez questioned the reliance on reserves and sought updated projections. Famiglietti said the anticipated $24 million drawdown over 2026 and 2027 includes funds already assigned to the 2026 deficit.<\/p>\n
Famiglietti also said the administration is seeking proposals from independent accounting firms for a targeted financial review, with the city auditor\u2019s position still vacant after Maria Rodriguez\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n
No residents spoke during the hearing Wednesday.<\/p>\n
At a committee-of-the-whole meeting afterward, community development officials outlined proposed allocations from approximately $2.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding.<\/p>\n
Proposals include $500,000 for administration, $300,000 for code enforcement salaries, $300,000 for East Reading Pool improvements and $206,000 for a Healthy Homes program addressing roof repairs and lead hazards.<\/p>\n
Another $500,000 would help purchase and rehabilitate a building where New Journey Outreach plans to operate a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n
Officials also reviewed approximately $215,000 in proposed Emergency Solutions Grant funding, including $100,000 for Opportunity House, $29,500 for Catholic Charities, $29,000 for the Salvation Army and $20,750 for Mary\u2019s Shelter.<\/p>\n
Community Development Liaison Officer Damian Carabello said the Mary\u2019s Shelter allocation would help expand services for homeless young adults, including those aging out of care. The funding could complement future federal grants targeting youth homelessness, he said.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s proposed federal HOME program allocations total approximately $911,000, against requests exceeding $1.6 million. The program supports affordable housing through homebuyer assistance, new construction and property rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
Proposed allocations include $450,000 for homeownership assistance, $251,000 for new construction and $115,000 for qualified Community Housing Development Organizations, or CHDOs.<\/p>\n
Carabello said the city has struggled to find eligible CHDO partners. Federal waivers previously granted for unused funding will no longer be available for newer funding years, making recruitment of qualified organizations a priority.<\/p>\n
Councilman O. Christopher Miller raised concerns about single-family homes being converted to rentals, particularly properties purchased by limited liability companies, and questioned whether all are registered and inspected.<\/p>\n
Council members also questioned leaving a vacant code inspector position unfunded in 2027.<\/p>\n
Famiglietti said the position would not be eliminated, just unfilled. The department currently has 18 inspectors, he noted.<\/p>\n
Managing Director Jack Gombach said the administration wants to review enforcement practices and staffing assignments before adding personnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to address the workflow organization issues first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The proposed budget also includes $450,000 for emergency demolitions. In response to council President Donna Reed, Famiglietti said the city is working to recover demolition costs through property liens when appropriate.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Vanessa Campos questioned the omission of sidewalk improvements from the federal funding plan. Gombach said low participation in the previous program prompted the city to redirect funding toward homelessness services.<\/p>\n
Baez and Councilman Raymond Baker urged reconsideration, citing deteriorating sidewalks and wheelchair accessibility concerns. Gombach agreed to review the program and return with a recommendation.<\/p>\n
Council is expected to consider the federal funding action plan Nov. 9, ahead of a Nov. 15 submission deadline to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.<\/p>\n
Under the city\u2019s Home Rule Charter, council must adopt the 2027 budget by Dec. 15 or the mayor\u2019s original proposed balanced budget will automatically take effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reading City Council continued its review of the proposed 2027 budget last week, examining plans to draw $12.45…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-319503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}