LEWISTOWN — The Lewistown Borough Council approved advertising the proposed 2026 budget and approved advertising a proposed 2026 tax ordinance that includes a property tax increase at their Monday meeting.

Lewistown Borough Treasurer/Deputy Borough Manager Somer Weiss said that the borough’s proposed 2026 Operating Budget totals $15.9 million in revenue and $15.5 million in expenses with an anticipated reserve of about $340,000.

The 2025 reserve as of Nov. 7, is about $343,000 while the 2024 reserve totaled about $791,000.

The proposed property tax increase or millage adjustments include a lighting adjustment from 0.736 to 1.119 mills, a fire tax adjustment from 0.267 to 0.299 mills, and a real estate tax adjustment from 13.859 to 14.859 mills.

“The average household will see about a $45 increase over the course of a year,” Councilman Scott Gutshall said.

Council members, in councilman Larry Searer’s absence, also approved advertising the proposed 2026 sewer rate ordinance 2025-14 at $112.60 per equivalent dwelling unit per quarter and $6.60 per 1,000 gallons.

Earlier during the meeting, Carol Kearney-High, project coordinator for SEDA-COG, discussed the council’s proposed abandonment of a Rec Park improvement project to use 2024 Community Development Block Grant funds to replace breathing apparatuses for the Lewistown Fire Department.

Council members approved abandoning the Rec Park project in favor of using the grant funds for breathing apparatus replacements for the Lewistown Fire Department.

The Rec Park project did not come to fruition due to the property lying in a floodway.

High said that the 2023 and 2024 Community Development Block Grant funds used to replace the fire safety equipment total slightly more than $240,000.

The 2025 Community Development Block Grant funds, more than $140,000, will be used to complete phase two of the fire safety equipment replacement project.

Lewistown Borough Council also:

-Approved a facility use request for Burnham’s New Life Church to serve free food, including hot dogs and soup, at 17 Chestnut St., Fountain Square Park tentatively from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays in the remaining weekends of November into the end of December. The Church may begin serving the free food again in March 2026;

-Approved Ordinance 2025 – 12 regarding the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System contribution that allows non-uniformed Borough employees to put additional money into their retirement funds;

-Approved the 2026 wage and salary resolution;

-Approved the three-year American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees contract effective Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028;

-Authorized the council president to sign documents related to the purchase of real estate and pay $10,000 to satisfy the terms of the sales agreement;

-Approved Resolution 2025-10 for a Local Share Account grant submission;

-Approved advertising a request for proposal for IT Services for the Borough of Lewistown;

-Approved the 2026 cost and fee schedule;

-Approved the updated facility use form for borough properties;

-Approved the Lewistown Community Center contract (form);

-Approved utilizing a Department of Environmental Protection-approved landfill site for disposal of street cleaning debris on an as-needed basis at no cost to the borough;

-Approved borough hall closure on Nov. 28, 2025;

-Approved advertising the following for sale via a sealed bid process: 2002 Sterling Garbage Truck, 1990 Chevy Kodiak Dump Truck, and 2021 Falcon 2 Ton Hotbox, with the option to reject any and all bids;

-Approved the 2026 holiday schedule/refuse schedule;

-Approved the 2026 Nu-Visions Cleaning Contracts in a 4-2 roll call vote with Council Vice President Robert Barlett and Council President Matthew Moore in opposition;

-Approved City Hook and Ladder’s quarterly allocation of $11,250;

-Approved the FAME EMS quarterly allocation of $6,000;

-Accepted the resignation of WasteWater Treatment Plant employee Dave Snavely due to retirement, effective Dec. 12, 2025;

-Approved EMPLOYEE A to transfer to the Wastewater Treatment Plant effective Dec. 15, 2026.