Newtown BOS Meeting: October 14, 2026

2027 Budget, Tax Increases, Road Projects, Pedestrian Safety & Bridge Funding

At its October 14, 2026 meeting, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors reviewed the proposed 2027 budget, including revenues of $19,129,875, an anticipated end-of-2026 fund balance of $5,138,124, and proposed changes to township property taxes.

Other discussions included fire protection funding, staffing changes, road paving, recreation projects, traffic and pedestrian safety, and the Newtown Creek pedestrian bridge. The Board also approved bill payments and other contracts.

Budget at a Glance

2027 Budgeted Revenues	$19,129,875
Anticipated 2026 Fund Balance	$5,138,124
Projected Structural Deficit	$3.2 Million
Proposed Total Millage	19.75 Mills
Proposed Net Tax Increase	2.635 Mills

1. Proposed 2027 Budget & Taxes

The proposed budget anticipates approximately $8.6 million in local enabling taxes. A projected structural deficit of approximately $3.2 million would be covered using General Fund reserves, reducing the balance to an estimated $1,931,395.

That remaining balance would represent 11.23% of expenditures, satisfying the township's 10% reserve policy target. No General Fund tax increase is proposed.

Proposed Millage Adjustments

Fund	Proposed Change
Fire Protection	Increase 3 mills to 10 mills
Fire Hydrant	Increase from 0.615 to 0.85 mills
Debt Service	Decrease 0.6 mills to 2.4 mills
Rescue Squad	Remain at 2 mills

The detailed budget summary reports that the proposed 19.75-mill total would increase taxes by approximately $103.39 annually, or $8.61 monthly, for the average residential assessment. For more details, read “Draft #NewtownPA Township 2027 Budget Calls for 15% Tax Increase”.

Fire Protection Funding

The proposed 3-mill increase would bring the Fire Protection Fund to the 10-mill cap permitted under the Second Class Township Code. Funding would support 14 paid firefighters, equipment, and a $285,000 contribution to the Lees Town Fire Association. The SAFER grant supporting staffing expires in March 2027.

Supervisors Debate Using Reserves

Supervisor Phil Calabro proposed using approximately $700,000 from the fund balance, equivalent to roughly 2 mills, to avoid raising taxes and maintain millage at approximately 17 mills.

Supervisor Elen Snyder explicitly opposed using General Fund balances to offset taxes.

Staff Restructuring

The proposed staffing plan contemplates a full-time zoning and code enforcement director, with potential savings from bringing certain inspections and administrative work in-house. The assistant manager would continue overseeing finance. No full-time human resources director is proposed for 2027.

2. Capital Projects & Department Updates

Capital Purchases: $736,780

Proposed purchases include network switches and software, two police patrol vehicles, the final Axon body camera contract payment, portable radios, ballistic vests, firearm replacements, an architectural study of police and fire facilities, and vehicle diagnostic and emissions tools for in-house inspections.

Parks & Recreation

$100,000	Master plan for Kettle Moraine, Conran and Helen Randall Park, intended to support future grant matches
$300,000	Playground structure replacement at Rockridge

Funding sources include historical developer contributions and General Fund transfers.

2027 Road Paving Program

Approximately $850,000 is available through Highway Aid and the General Fund for road paving. Here is the text list of streets from the 2027 Road Program Map, organized by Base Bid and Alternate Bid.

Base Bid

Bedford Lane – Entire length
Hampton Circle – Entire length
Brighton Place – Entire length
Chatham Place – Entire length
Twining Bridge Road – Durham Road to House #104 (Type 2 Repairs Only)
Linden Hill Road – Frost Lane to Route 532
Wrights Road – Eagle Road to Culvert

Alternate Bid

Brookdale Place & Woodbine Court – Entire length
Bluebell Court – Entire length
Sunflower Court – Entire length
Columbine Circle – Remainder from 2026
Thistle Lane – Entire length
Jasmine Court – Entire length
Ginger Court – Entire length
Teaberry Lane – Entire length
Snapdragon Drive – Entire length
Twining Bridge Road – Entire length
Marion Place – Entire length
Amy Circle – Entire length
Richboro Road – Entire length
Newtown Yardley Road – Between Tara Boulevard & Terry Drive (Type 2 Repairs Only)
Lower Dolington Road – By Newtown Yardley Road (Type 2 Repairs Only)

The list (base & alternate) totals approximately 3.9 miles at an estimated cost of $1.3 million.

INSERT ROAD PAVING MAP HERE

September 2026 Police Activity

Calls Logged	2,069
Patrol Miles (as reported)	621,000
Traffic Crashes	57
Fatal Crashes	1
Reportable Crashes	10
Traffic Citations	193

Commercial vehicle enforcement details continue. A Drug Take Back event is scheduled for October 24, 2026, from 10 AM to 2 PM at the township administration building.

3. Public Comments: Budget Transparency & Pedestrian Safety

Make the Preliminary Budget Available Sooner

The preliminary budget must be advertised for 20 days before adoption. October 28 and November 10 were discussed as potential advertisement dates, with final adoption targeted for December.

Resident and former Supervisor John Mack urged the Board to advertise the budget on October 28, allowing residents more time to review the proposal and participate in the discussion.

“We need to open up the budget process this year for more access to the documents, discussion, and justification for certain purchases. I urge the BOS to approve the advertisement of the Preliminary Budget on October 28. The sooner this is done, the more opportunity residents will have to weigh in on how our money is spent next year!”
— John Mack, Public Comment

PennDOT Grant & Pedestrian Safety

Mack also urged township officials to apply for a PennDOT multimodal grant before the end-of-October deadline. Proposed safety improvements included:

The crosswalk at Chandler Hall
The intersection of Jonquil Drive and Eagle Road
The sidewalk and curb along Washington Avenue

All three locations had been raised in previous public comments. Mack additionally requested that the township re-establish a standing Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee.

4. Bills, Contracts & Pedestrian Bridge

Approved Financial Actions

October 14 Bill Payments	$1,058,220.77
Transfers	$138,953.45
Read “Newtown Township's October 14, 2026 Bills List: Where Is the Money Going?” for more details.

The Board also approved Arcadia Financial Security Release No. 10 and sidewalk contract adjustments.

Newtown Creek Pedestrian Bridge: Where Is the Additional Funding?

The Board awarded the pedestrian bridge construction contract to RoadCon Inc. for $985,850. Public questions remained regarding the estimated $1.3 million total project cost and the Newtown Creek Coalition's funding commitments.

Questions About Bridge Funding

At the September 9, 2026 BOS meeting, the Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to accept the $985,850 construction bid, subject to additional funding being provided by the Newtown Creek Coalition.

At that meeting, Mr. Lewis mentioned that the Newtown Creek Coalition (NCC) had been awarded a $100,000 construction grant. However, the NCC's website did not mention that grant under its “Support the Bridge Project” appeal.

A state Local Share Account grant of approximately $1 million had previously been awarded for the project. With about $118,000 already spent, approximately $882,000 remained.

That leaves a gap of at least approximately $100,000 against the accepted construction bid. But the NCC estimates the total project cost at $1.3 million, indicating an additional funding requirement of approximately $300,000 beyond the original $1 million grant.

Where is this additional money coming from?

Update (10/16/26): In a September 2, 2026. letter via a RTK request to Mike Sellers (Newtown Creek Coalition) and Julia Waldorf (Newtown Borough Council), PA State Senator Steven J. Santarsiero and House Representative Perry Warren said “While we continue to fully support this project and will wotk together to secure $100,000 in additional state funds to cover most of the increase in construction cost, we look forward to commitments from Newtown Township, Newtown Borough, and/or private funding source(s) to contribute any fiirtlier fuiids needed to close the gap behveen the original proposal and the updated plan.”

In other words, NO grant has yet neen awarded to the NCC and our state representatives seem to expect Newtown Township and Borough to commit to supply additional funding!

5. Issues Worth Watching

2027 Taxes: Will the Supervisors approve the proposed millage increase or use additional reserves?
Budget Transparency: Will the preliminary budget be advertised October 28 or November 10?
Fire Services: How will the township sustain staffing after the SAFER grant expires?
Road Improvements: Which roads will ultimately receive funding?
Pedestrian Safety: Will the township pursue PennDOT multimodal grant funding?
Pedestrian Bridge: What confirmed funding will cover the construction bid and remaining project costs?