East Greenville Council handled a slew of business on Monday night. The members approved a 2021 budget that holds the line on taxes, lost a mayor, promoted a police officer and restructured the contract of Randy Morris, chief of the Borough of East Greenville's Police Department.

            Contacted early Tuesday evening, Member Lon Brinckman II would not provide any details of the contract adjustment. He cited Solicitor Michael Peters as the source of his response. The details of the new contact can be learned through a right to know request, according to Brinckman.

            The borough's $1.718 million budget maintains a 6.25 millage rate and requires a $96,000 transfer from the borough's capital fund to make the blueprint balanced.

             Residents will pay an additional $9 in trash fees in 2021. The current annual cost for solid waste removal is $123, according to council President Angie Fegely.

            Municipal officials have budgeted $2,000, through both the general and water budgets, to upgrade their website and $25,000 for office and meeting room improvements. In November, Fegely said she would prefer to have council sit at a semi-circle podium rather than its current horizontal one.

            The budget also calls for multiple equipment purchases. The council president previously identified the allocation of $46,000 for the borough's water department and $12,000 for a backhoe.

            Mayor Keith Gerhart officially submitted his letter of resignation. His last day in the office will be Dec. 13. Council accepted his resignation at the end of the meeting.  The members are expected to fill the vacancy on Dec. 21, according to Brinckman. He said he plans on applying to fill the seat. If appointed, he expects to run for his own term in November.

            "We've worked hard to get where we are," Brinckman said Tuesday evening. "We've been through some trying times. I feel like I can help finish the process."

            Gerhart announced in September his intent to leave the borough and end his second stint as mayor. Gerhart informed the public that he was moving to a municipality in eastern Berks County.  "This was not a decision I came to easily," Gerhart said three months ago.

            Council can appoint any resident of the borough to succeed Gerhart. The next mayor will complete his term, which expires at the end of 2021.

            Gerhart, who announced during the September meeting that he informed Manager Jim Fry, Fegely and Morris of his decision in early August, earned a second stint as mayor in November of 2017 by defeating incumbent Ryan Sloyer. Running with a group of council candidates known as "We the People," Gerhart promoted a platform of reversing the borough's decision to withdraw from the Upper Perk Police Commission.

            The members voted to promote Francis Bailey, hired as a part-time officer on Oct. 7, to full-time. According to Brinckman, the move made financial sense. He said council wanted to increase patrol time in the municipality.