Reading City Council

10/23/2026

BERKS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TOWN HALL MEETING NOTICE:

To the Township and Borough Offices and Officials in and surrounding Reading,

The Board of Commissioners has a town hall planned for Tuesday, November 10, at 6:30 pm, in the Reading Public Library - Northeast Branch at 1348 North 11th Street in Reading. The Commissioners wanted to reach out to Reading and to each of the townships and boroughs surrounding the area and invite any interested municipal supervisors, staff, and the public to attend.

The Commissioners would also appreciate any help you can provide to promote the town hall by including mention of it in any newsletters, announcements, or displays you might have. Any effort is appreciated! A few details of the town hall are below.

The Berks County Commissioners will hold a Town Hall at the Reading Public Library - Northeast Branch at 1348 North 11th Street in Reading on Tuesday, November 10 at 6:30 pm. The three Commissioners will provide an update on Berks County and answer questions from the public. Doors open at 6 pm. For more information, please contact 610-478-6136.

10/22/2026

There will be a Regular Business Meeting of City Council this coming Monday, October 26 at 7pm. You are welcome to join the meeting in person or virtually. To view the Agenda, please click on the link below:

10/21/2026

10/19/2026

10/19/2026

10/15/2026

The City has begun the process of establishing the 2027 Budget. The City's Finance Director, Joseph Famiglietti and staff have drafted a preliminary DRAFT budget which the link below will take you directly to the DRAFT Budget.

The following portion is taken out of the Committee of the Whole meeting from October 5 and will also be referenced with a link below.

Budget, Capital & Position Ord Overview and Revenue Projections

Mr. Famiglietti screen shared portions of the draft General Fund budget. He gave an overview of the revenues and expenses and stated that a tax increase is not planned. He stated that the budget has increased by $2.8M, with a $1.4M decrease in planned expenditures for office supplies, maintenance, training, contracted services, etc. He added that the value of the property tax assessed values has been reduced while the revenues for EIT, Real Estate Transfer Tax and assorted Act 511 taxes have increased. Overall revenues have risen by 2% or $2.7M.

Mr. Famiglietti stated that there is room for revenue growth in licenses, permits and other fees. He noted his intent to consider policy changes to capture that untapped revenue. He added that fees for services will be reassessed to ensure the City’s costs are captured.

Mr. Famiglietti reviewed the 2027 capital projects and noted that this list will be realigned moving forward to include projects that are truly capital in nature and force operational expenses back into the General Fund budget.

Mr. Famiglietti stated that the Position Ordinance contains no new positions. Some positions that are not expected to be filled during 2027 are not funded yielding a savings of $1M. He noted the need for a closer evaluation and adjustment of some positions. The Position Ordinance contains the following salary increases for the four City work groups:

FOP IAFF AFSCME 3799 & 2763 Management
5% 4% 3.5% 3.5%

Mr. Famiglietti explained that the value of the increases for the four groups is $378K. He added that the City’s health insurance provider predicts a 19% increase. He stated that the HR Director is currently attempting to reduce that increase. He noted that the City expects to cover that health insurance increase. He added that the work on the 2027 budget started in April with the goal to develop a realistic budget line by line.

https://www.readingpa.gov/images/2027budget/2027_Draft_Budget_-_Print_Copy.pdf

https://www.readingpa.gov/cow-summary-10-5-2026

10/14/2026