UPPER POTTSGROVE—The Upper Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners met on Monday, February 2, with one issue dominating much of the evening’s discussion: reopening the adopted 2026 budget which currently includes no tax increase. However, this could change.
Commissioner Elwood Taylor repeatedly framed the discussion around the township donations to outside organizations and the need for residents to “pay their fair share.” The conversation took place only a month after the new board voted to rescind a resolution preventing commissioners from serving on boards of outside organizations that receive township funding. A prior board passed this resolution to remove potential conflicts of interest when allocating funding.
The stated purpose for reopening the budget was to restore funding to the Pottstown Regional Library at a proposed cost of $30,000. Upper Pottsgrove discontinued financial support for the library in 2021 at the urging of Commissioner Cathy Paretti, a decision supported by prior boards. Since that time, and with each subsequent budget vote prior to the new board taking office, Commissioners Paretti and Waldt had opposed any funding of the library (See article on Paretti and library funding here https://upperpottsgrovejournal.com/library-funding-paretti-first-suggested-program-cuts-in-2021-budget/)
However, during Monday night’s meeting, Commissioner Paretti acknowledged that if the township were to resume funding, it should be done cautiously and incrementally, and only after a full review of the township’s financial position. Commissioners Waldt and Leach appeared to support that approach.
Commissioner Taylor, however, strongly disagreed.
Taylor pushed for restoring the full $30,000 immediately, arguing that funding the library by “the proper way” would take too long and would require public notice, review, and input — procedural steps he appeared reluctant to follow. This stance drew attention given the new board’s prior campaign emphasis on transparency and public engagement. At one point, Taylor dismissed the need for a detailed financial review altogether, stating that the township “needs to pay it anyway.”
Another notable moment occurred when Commissioner Albert Leach attempted to downplay financial concerns by stating, “We got $10,000,000 to spend,” referring to reserve funds accumulated by the investment strategies of the previous Board of Commissioners. Strategic and reserve funds are traditionally intended to protect the township’s long-term financial stability, not serve as discretionary spending accounts.
Commissioner Tyrone Robinson, participating by phone, echoed Taylor’s position, urging the board to fund the library in full immediately and suggesting the township could pay the library first and address other obligations later.
Taylor returned multiple times to the theme of raising taxes so residents could pay their “fair share,” even as he objected to following the public process required for a tax increase — a process designed specifically to allow residents to provide input.
Taylor also attempted to advance a separate $25,000 payment to an outside organization on which he currently serves as treasurer, though that effort did not succeed during the meeting. This effort constituted the primary motivation for a prior board’s adoption of the aforementioned resolution, which has since, as stated, been rescinded by the new board.
After a lengthy discussion that appeared to be moving toward a compromise — gradually restoring funding over time — a motion was unexpectedly introduced to fund the library at the full $30,000 level immediately. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote.
Commissioner Paretti cast the lone “no” vote, consistent with her voting record over the past five years. She emphasized that her opposition should not be interpreted as a lack of financial support for the library itself, but rather concern over the financial approach. In other word she does not want you to think she does not want to financially support the Pottstown library after voting not to financially support it for the past 5 years. Commissioner Paretti needs to pick a lane and stay in it because taxpayers are confused, to say the least.
For many years, Upper Pottsgrove was able to limit tax increases to a single modest adjustment, largely because prior boards agreed that township funds should be reserved for core municipal services, which predominantly include keeping the roads open and the residents safe. With the current board advancing multiple new spending initiatives, questions remain about whether higher taxes will now be required to support them.
As Monday night’s discussion made clear, those policy choices — and their financial consequences — are now beginning to take shape.