There will be no tax increase for Reading property owners in 2025.
City Council Monday voted to hold the line on taxes and in a separate action set the general fund budget at $115 million for next year.
Both measures passed by a 7-0 vote.
The current tax rate of 18.129 mills means homeowners pay about $18 for every $1,000 in assessed home value.
The owner of property assessed at $100,000 would pay a tax bill of $1,812.
The rate includes a tax of three-tenths mills to fund the shade tree commission and a tax of two-tenths mills to fund the Reading Public Library.
City property taxes have remained at the current millage rate since 2021, when the rate was increased by 0.44 mill from 2020.
In other business, council also approved police training provided by J. Harris Academy of Police Training LLC, Toms River, N.J.
Training will be provided in four, two-day blocks of instruction for up to 200 city officers the next two years.
The training in 2025 will focus on crisis intervention and use of force; and in 2026, on de-escalation and implicit bias.
In a memorandum to council, Chief Elias Vazquez said the training will benefit the officers by enhancing their knowledge and helping them gain new skill sets to better serve the community.
The $98,000 training contract will be funded through the capital improvement projects budget.
This training will not focus on cultural sensitivity, Mayor Eddie Moran said, clarifying a point raised by Councilman Rafael Nunez, who emphasized the importance of such training for police officers.
“I do want them to understand my culture,” said Nunez, who was born in La Mata, Cotui, Dominican Republic.
The councilman, who represents District 5, said the training would be particularly beneficial for the city, where nearly 69% of the population identifies as Latino.
Moran said the city is already providing cultural sensitivity to the police department and all other department staff under a different training program begun two years ago.
In another matter, council approved a $188,500 engineering services contract with Civil and Environmental Consultants Inc., Philadelphia, for design engineering for a new splash pad on the site of the former Hillside Pool.
Reading gets recreation grant for Hillside Pool site [Updated]
The city bought the property at 333 N. 14th St. for $200,000 in 2019.
The plan calls for removing the derelict pool, closed in 2007, and replacing it with a modern splash pad, shade cabanas and other upgrades to create a family-friendly play area. Other improvements will include new concession and restroom facilities, on-grade parking and full ADA accessibility.
The city was awarded a $1,962,038 grant for the project from the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, administered by the National Park Service.
Council also voted to reallocate American Rescue Plan Act funds toward a project that will upgrade public facilities for energy efficiency.
The city plans to use $5 million in ARPA funds remaining from completed projects or from projects eliminated because they could not be under contract by the end of this year.
The funds must be committed by the end of the year or returned to the federal government.
The city has until the end of 2026 to spend the remaining funds.
Council also introduced an ordinance that if passed next week will reallocate $2.62 million from uncompleted projects to several social services and economic development initiatives identified by Moran and his administration.