Palmyra Borough Council hears 2026 draft budget; votes postponed after no quorum

Palmyra Borough Council heard a presentation of the borough f'026 draft budget on Oct. 28, 2025, but took no votes after a meeting official announced there was no quorum.

"We do not have a quorum. Therefore, no votes can be taken this evening," a staff member told the council after roll call, and the consent calendar and any formal approvals were deferred to the next meeting.

The finance presentation framed the draft as a "worst-case scenario." The presenter said the borough—s projected beginning general fund balance is $422,000, short of the $700,000 judged necessary to operate into the first quarter of 2026, creating a $277,000 gap under the assumptions used.

Key cost drivers in the draft budget include inflation and benefit increases: a 3.3% consumer price index adjustment applied to salaries; an additional 1.55% carried forward for the treasurer, utility-billing specialist and administrative assistant from last year—s agreement; and a 2.8% Social Security estimate. Health insurance, provided through the Pennsylvania Municipal Health Insurance Cooperative (PIMIC) administered by Benecon, increased 19.8% for the borough (PIMIC members averaged 14% to 18%), dental insurance rose 4.8% and vision premiums were unchanged. The presenter said employee premium contributions would increase by 19.8%, with proposed round-dollar contributions of $50 for family coverage and $30 for single coverage. The borough—s claim history is about $31,000 in the red this year, so no refund is anticipated.

Other insurance lines (auto, liability, property) were preliminarily budgeted for an 8% increase pending final renewals. Audit expenses were shown up 19.4% to $45,000, and the borough solicitor—s hourly rate was noted to be increasing from $205 to $215 (about 4.7%). Computer-services and website-hosting costs are expected to remain unchanged.

On departmental items, the administration budget is projected to fall about 12.2% largely because the draft eliminates a second zoning and code-enforcement position. The presentation requested $11,750 to purchase and implement new financial-accounting software (to replace QuickBooks) and to replace the front-counter credit-card point-of-sale terminal. The draft also includes three months of salary for a new assistant to work alongside Brenda before her planned retirement in 2027.

Public-safety budgets were described as largely flat: the police budget is roughly $5,200 less than the current year; fire funding will be addressed in the fire-protection fund discussion; and the emergency-medical-services borough assessment will increase next year from $5 to $7 per household.

Public works proposals include a request for one additional full-time position and one seasonal laborer for summer mowing, with vehicle and equipment replacements funded from the capital reserve. Snow-and-ice costs reflect a salt price increase from $88.05 per ton to $92 per ton (about 4.3%). The draft also requests $5,800 to purchase 4,000 gallons of liquid calcium chloride for pretreatment and cold-temperature performance. Street-lighting costs were estimated to rise about 5.5%.

Stormwater work was a highlighted concern. An ARM Group geophysical study of the north-south alley between the 900 block of East Oak and East Maple Street showed the site may be suitable for an injection test well; the presenter put a tentative cost of $25,000 for drilling a test well and allowed $5,000 for annual stormwater repairs.

Paving is the largest capital line discussed. The engineering estimate for the roads under consideration totaled $764,000; the presenter read a list of candidate streets and said bids were due Dec. 2 and were likely to come in below the engineer—s estimate. Streets named for the 2026 paving list include South Duke Street (Main to Elm), East Walnut (South Duke to dead end), East Pine (South Duke to dead end), East Birch, East Cypress and short stubs into Southeast Park; East Elm (South Duke to Sycamore); Sycamore Lane; Sandalwood; and Colony/Colonial Drive. A bid alternate to pave the Southeast Park parking-lot driveway was included; the engineer—s estimate for that alternate was $75,000. The draft excludes microsurface sealing for next year because of the volume of paving planned.

A parks line item for the Heritage Park basketball-court resurfacing was revisited for updated pricing.

Because the council lacked a quorum, no formal votes or motions were recorded on the consent calendar or the draft budget; the staff member said those items will be placed on the next meeting agenda. The presentation concluded after the capital and parks discussions.

Clarifying details provided during the presentation included the $422,000 projected beginning general-fund balance, the $700,000 target to reach first-quarter solvency, the $31,000 negative insurance-claim history, the estimated $25,000 test-well cost, a $764,000 paving engineer estimate, the $75,000 parking-lot alternate estimate, and specific proposed employee premium contributions.