Lititz Borough Council approved the borough’s 2026 operating budget at its December meeting and adopted a series of related fiscal resolutions to set tax rates and appoint administrative vendors.

Council voted to adopt resolution 1013 to approve the 2026 budget after staff briefed members on recent rate studies and a new Inframark financial review that informed the draft. Council was told the budget currently includes a placeholder 2.5% increase for water and sewer rates to help address aging infrastructure; staff said the figure is subject to final review when the full rate-study data are distributed to council in early January.

The council also approved resolution 1014 appointing Brown Plus as the borough’s independent auditor for fiscal year 2025 to perform required examinations and municipal filings. By separate motions, council kept the real estate tax rate at 3.25% (resolution 1015), continued the 0.5% earned income tax (resolution 1016) and maintained the 0.5% realty transfer tax (resolution 1017). Council appointed the Lancaster County Tax Collection Bureau to collect borough real estate taxes for 2026 (resolution 1018).

In closing remarks related to the budget, staff and councilors highlighted the borough’s relatively strong reserves and emphasized sensitivity to residents on fixed incomes while planning for long-term capital needs. The finance-related motions were approved by voice vote.

Council also approved other finance-adjacent items on the consent calendar: adoption of investment guidelines for the borough’s police pension plan (resolution 1022), and a previously budgeted $20,000 agreement to support the next phase of the county skatepark project (agreement 579).