On Monday, November 10, 2025, the Borough Manager presented the proposed 2026 budget to Town Council at a special public meeting.
The Borough of Chambersburg is the only town in Pennsylvania to have an electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, sanitation, and storm sewer utility. These utilities are never funded by local tax money.
There are five types of real estate taxes collected by the Borough from property owners. Each budget sets the mil rate and Franklin County sets the assessed value of property to calculate your real estate tax bill. In 2026, there will be no tax increase.
PUBLIC WORKS CAMPUS
The 2026 budget includes sufficient resources to finish the Public Works Campus project on Wayne Avenue. Construction on various buildings will continue through to 2027.
So far, the Public Works Campus Bond Tax is set at the rate of 1-mil or $17.70 per year. It pays 24% of the cost of construction; the rest is being paid by the Borough utility departments. As construction continues this rate will need to rise in the future, but not yet. There is no real estate tax increase in 2026 for this project.
BOROUGH UTILITY CUSTOMERS HAVE LOWEST TOTAL UTILITY RATES IN PENNSYLVANIA AND THAT WILL NOT CHANGE IN 2026
The Borough has outstanding utility rates. This is by design. In order to help property owners pay for police, fire, emergency services, and debt service taxes, Town Council has worked to reward utility customers with record low rates. In fact, those residential customers with Borough gas and electric will save over $2,000 per year in utility expenses, when compared to average natural gas and electric customers throughout Pennsylvania. Borough electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, sanitation, and storm sewer rates are much lower than most other municipal and private sector utilities. The electric and natural gas utilities also make an annual payment in-lieu-of taxes to support the police and fire departments. The only increases in utilities will be a small electric rate increase, delayed until September 2026, and a small water rate increase.
WHY IS THERE AN AMBULANCE FEE ON WATER INVOICES?
Since 2020, a Town Council-approved Ambulance Fee has been collected as a surcharge on all water customer invoices. The fee helps defray the costs of the ambulance service being ready-to-serve. Each year, federal government rules require ambulance companies to write-off invoices for Medicaid and Medicare patients. In 2026, the Borough anticipates to write-off over $1.5 million. Ambulance companies are in crisis as a result of low revenue and no volunteers. The fee is not a tax, as under state law taxes can only be assessed on the value of real estate. Also, it is not the Ambulance Club, which is a separate voluntary donation program. The fee is a surcharge on water service invoices with payments shared with the Fire Department. In 2026, the fee will increase to $12.50 per month per water service account. Whoever pays the water bill, pays this important fee.
CONSLUSION
Only 18¢ of every $1 paid in real estate taxes will go to the Borough. The balance, 82¢, will go to support the school district, county, and county library system. In fact, 67¢ of every dollar goes to the school district, which sends its own tax bill each summer.
Town Council has not raised taxes in 14 of the last 20 calendar years. In 2026, the proposed budget has no tax increase and very few utility increases.
The final 2026 budget requires Town Council approval. State law requires Council to approve a fully balanced budget and tax ordinance by December 31 of each year. On Monday, December 15, 2025, Council is scheduled to vote on the 2026 budget and the tax ordinance.
The entire proposed 2026 budget is available at www.chambersburgpa.gov, click on Transparency.
