HELLERTOWN, Pa. — Hellertown Borough Council has approved a budget for 2026 that marks the first tax hike in the borough since 2019.
The board also saw its newly elected officials, some returning and others making their debuts, take their oaths of office.
Council voted 4-1 on Monday to approve a half-mill tax increase for general purposes and a 1-mill increase for the fire-tax rate to help cover a new daytime stipend program and incentives for the volunteer-run Dewey Fire Company.
The budget means the owner of a home with a tax evaluation of $100,000 would pay $2,300 in property tax in 2026 — up $150 from 2025.Hellertown budget
Councilman Andrew Hughes was the lone nay vote. Councilmen Thomas Rieger and Matt Marcincin were absent.
That raises the property tax rate to 23 mills — 20.5 general-purpose mills and 2.5 mills for fire equipment and fire houses.
A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That means the owner of a home with a tax evaluation of $100,000 would pay $2,300 in property tax in 2026 — up $150 from 2025.
The new budget shows the borough facing a rise in healthcare costs and increases in police payroll because of a 27th pay period in 2026.
It also provides additional funding for summertime playground programming.
'To protect life and property'
The fire department’s scratch rate — instances of Dewey Fire Company personnel not being able to respond to a call — grew from 2% to 12% in four years, according to council-shared data from 2021-24.
While he said he has heard the stories of the fire department and parsed through its data, Hughes said he still was left “torn” on how to vote.
“It feels like we're playing a two-minute defense with the budget every year. ... I'd like us to have a little bit more breathing room in budgets going forward so that we can be responsive to the needs of the borough.”Hellertown Borough Councilman Larry O'Donnell
“I'm really struggling with this,” Hughes said. “Everybody knows I'm an anti-tax person.
“But at the same time, Dewey Fire Company absolutely needs these funds to stay sustainable and protect life and property here in the borough.”
Councilman Larry O’Donnell said, “an increase is necessary at this point, but I’d like to not be in this situation in 2027.”
“It feels like we're playing a two-minute defense with the budget every year — and I know that’s the nature of budgets,” O’Donnell said. “Maybe I'm just a little gun-shy because it's my first one.
“But I'd like us to have a little bit more breathing room in budgets going forward so that we can be responsive to the needs of the borough.”
Former Councilwoman Liz Thompson said officials should have dug even deeper to find more meaningful cost-cutting measures as part of the budgeting process.
'One small price to pay'
Following council’s support in December and on Monday, the fire company is set to have a rotating crew of three or four personnel at its Durham Street station from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday in 2026.
The incentive program would pay personnel $100 per 12 hours on duty and $12 for each incident response.
Officials have said the move will help the fire company achieve a daytime response time of 60 seconds and bolster staffing as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.
Councilman Rieger previously called the proposed tax hike to cover those services “one small price to pay” to give Dewey “some breathing room.”
A third-quarter report from the fire company, presented by officials in November, shows Dewey is made up of 17 senior/interior qualified members (eight of those qualified to drive company apparatus), five probationary/support members, five junior members and 10 auxiliary members.
“We are in desperate need of volunteers,” Dewey officials wrote in the report.
'The definition of insanity'
Incumbent Democrat-Republican Mayor David Heintzelman will be at the helm of Hellertown Borough Council for another four years.
Incumbent council members on Monday welcomed back included Rieger andO’Donnell, both Democrats, and Democrat-Republican Gail Nolf.
O’Donnell was approved to fill a council vacancy in June.
Hellertown Borough Council members should “educate themselves fully on the facts before drawing conclusions, learn from our previous collective experiences and work diligently to uphold accountability and transparency in local government.”Outgoing Hellertown Borough Councilman Andrew Hughes
Nolf, at one point previously a member of council, was appointed again in August after the resignation of former Councilwoman Liz Thompson, who cited unethical behavior from some leadership within the borough.
Democrats Cathy Leibensperger and Matthew Ward also were brought into the fold.
But instead of a four-year term like other members, Ward is set for a two-year stint after a special election to fill another vacancy.
Hughes’ term expired, and he did not seek re-election. His initial appointment to the panel was approved in 2018.
At 2025’s last Borough Council meeting, Hughes said he always strived to do the best he could on behalf of the community.
In his farewell statement, he told the newest council lineup to “educate themselves fully on the facts before drawing conclusions, learn from our previous collective experiences and work diligently to uphold accountability and transparency in local government.”
“Please remember: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” Hughes said.
