During their Dec. 9 meeting, the Upper Hanover Township supervisors adopted a 2026 budget that holds the property tax rate steady for the 20th consecutive year.

            The spending plan, with $6,026,812 in revenue and $5,857,450 in expenditures, maintains the total real estate millage at 1.45 mills, while using cash reserves to fund road, stormwater, and park projects.

            Specific projects being prioritized for next year include: Pipelining and bridge repairs; mill-and-overlay on Oak Road; drainage work on Kingsward Road; stormwater improvements on Stauffer Road; Schoolhouse Road signal modernization project; trail repaving in Macoby Run Park; and Macoby streambank restoration.

            There was a quorum of chairperson Steve Rothenberger, vice-chairperson Ben Fiorito, and Stefan Laessig. Supervisors Dottie Diehl and Tim Woodward were absent.

            The supervisors also unanimously passed a resolution to increase the firefighter service stipend it shares with East Greenville, Pennsburg, and Red Hill boroughs from $500 to $600.

            According to township solicitor Zachary Sivertsen, per the terms of a cell tower land lease agreement between T-Mobile and Upper Hanover, the wireless carrier allegedly owes the township $9,500 in back rent and taxes. He recommended that the board authorize him to file a claim in district court.

            "T-Mobile issued a notice of termination in 2024. They then failed to remove their antenna, as they were required to in the lease," he said. "We've been in communication with them and we were getting some back-and-forth dialogue. And recently, it just kind of stopped."

The board unanimously approved the motion to file the claim.

            There was much discussion about fast-approaching vacancies on the township planning commission. Laessig's four-year term on the commission expires at the end of the year, as does vice-chairperson Brandon Reed's, according to the township website. 

            Township manager Anne Klepfer reported that four applications have been submitted so far, and applications are still being accepted. The board will need to address the vacancies at its Jan. 5 reorganization meeting, she said, because the planning commission is scheduled to meet Jan. 7.

            The board could consider appointing alternate commission member Bob Kroll as a full voting member to take the place of commission member Sharon Bastone, who reportedly has requested to move to the alternate position.

"I'm going to invite them to attend your organizational meeting," Klepfer said.

            In addition, the township is seeking to vacate/abandon the right-of-way for Mensch Dam Road, which serves as the access road to the Upper Montgomery Joint Authority (UMJA) sewer plant. Doing so would officially make it a private road ?that UMJA would be responsible for maintaining. The board unanimously voted to advertise an ordinance to vacate the road.