Reading\u2019s proposed $284 million budget for 2026 would include a property tax increase, the city\u2019s first in four years.<\/p>\n
City Council at a special meeting Monday heard the administration\u2019s proposal for next year\u2019s budget, including a proposed tax increase aimed at maintaining essential services and narrowing the city\u2019s growing structural deficit.<\/p>\n
A structural deficit results when regular, ongoing expenses are higher than regular, ongoing revenues.<\/p>\n
Finance Director Jamar Kelly presented the draft budget highlights, describing it as a plan that balances fiscal responsibility with continued investment in city operations and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The city has held off a tax increase for four years, Kelly said, but the gap between revenue and expenses has widened.<\/p>\n
The administration, he noted, advised Mayor Eddie Moran that some level of property tax increase is needed to limit the size of the growing structural deficit.<\/p>\n
Overall spending across all funds, including capital and federal grants, is projected at $284 million, Kelly said. The general fund, which covers operations such as police, fire, public works, community development and the library system, accounts for roughly $126.3 million of the total, he noted.<\/p>\n
To sustain operations, the administration is proposing to raise the property tax rate to 19.261 mills from 18.129 mills. The owner of property assessed at $100,000 would pay a tax bill of $1,926, a change that would mean an increase of about $163 per year.<\/p>\n
The increase is expected to generate an additional $2 million in revenue and help offset rising personnel costs, which make up more than 70% of the city\u2019s expenditures, Kelly said.<\/p>\n
He noted that although the shortfall has appeared only on paper in recent years the city\u2019s 2024 audit will show a more tangible impact.<\/p>\n
Wages and benefits have grown about 16% since Reading exited Act 47 state oversight July 14, 2022, after being in the program for nearly 13 years, Kelly said. The increase positioned the city as a more competitive employer but also drove up long-term costs, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe corresponding bill is coming due,\u201d Kelly said, noting that efficiency improvements and new fee structures have helped but have not closed the gap.<\/p>\n
Kelly also stressed the administration\u2019s support for changes to Pennsylvania\u2019s Act 511, the 1965 law that regulates local taxes. A change that would allow a commuter tax outside Act 47 could generate an additional $7 million annually from nonresidents who work in the city, he said.<\/p>\n
Proposed major capital projects in the 2026 plan would total about $15 million, administrators said.<\/p>\n
The largest would be the $10.5 million replacement of City Hall\u2019s aging HVAC system, now underway. The city also plans to move forward with an $8 million renovation of the police and fire training center on Morgantown Road, supported in part by a $500,000 state grant.<\/p>\n
The administration is proposing fewer than five new positions next year, including a budget analyst in the finance department, a downtown activity coordinator and a fire training lieutenant. Kelly said the additions were chosen for their potential to improve efficiency or generate revenue.<\/p>\n
Council members raised questions about balancing new revenue with cost control.<\/p>\n
City Auditor Maria Rodriguez said the administration should look for ways to cut spending as well as increase income, noting that staffing levels have risen in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can increase property taxes as much as you want,\u201d she said, \u201cbut if you don\u2019t cut expenses, it\u2019s not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Managing Director Jack Gombach said the administration has already made significant cuts through its internal budget process and is working to keep spending tied to essential services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to be a difficult budget,\u201d he said, \u201cbut that is why we are in these seats: to keep the public interest first and be good stewards of tax dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal includes four ordinances covering the general fund, capital budget, position ordinance and property tax millage rate.<\/p>\n
Council members will review the budget line by line in the coming weeks before voting on final adoption later this year.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: October 8, 2025 at 7:45 AM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reading\u2019s proposed $284 million budget for 2026 would include a property tax increase, the city\u2019s first in four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1767,"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-7288","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\/7288","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=7288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}