Council adopts preliminary 2026 budget for public hearing while members and staff continue work on library roof, truck replacement and EMS funding options

Borough Council adopted a preliminary budget and scheduled the required public hearing for Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m., while staff and council agreed to continue refining several open items before final adoption.

Council members and the borough manager identified several outstanding items that could change final budget numbers: a recommended long-term replacement of the library roof (cost estimate cited in consultant memo as $152,000–$200,000) and a short-term interior repair estimate of about $7,500–$8,000; a heavy-equipment (dump truck) replacement that staff proposed postponing for one year and instead investing roughly $8,000–$9,000 to keep the current truck operational and preserve resale value; and failing crosswalk pavers at Gay and High streets where stamped concrete is being considered (engineer estimates treated asphalt ~ $85,000; stamped concrete expected to cost more).

Council discussed possible options to fill a gap in funding for emergency medical services (EMS) and other requests. The borough manager said funding Good Fellowship's request would require about $130,704 in the draft budget and that a dedicated EMS tax was one option; he described figures showing a $68–$75 annual cost per median residential property if the EMS charge were levied across properties, and also explained alternative trade-offs in capital purchases and maintenance.

Council directed staff to come back before the Nov. 19 public hearing with updated numbers and options. The preliminary budget was adopted to allow the statutory hearing process to proceed; council and staff will continue to tune assumptions (e.g., rental-license fee changes, parking-garage revenue accounting) and present revised options at committee or the public hearing.

The preliminary budget adoption passed on a recorded roll-call vote with all council members voting "Yes."