CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Chambersburg Borough Council approved a $5 sanitation rate increase for residential customers in the proposed budget, bringing the rate to $37 per month next year. For commercial customers, the increase would be $1, bringing it to $18 per cubic yard.
Additionally, the borough will discontinue the annual e-waste event, move the biannual waste event off-site, organize curbside waste collection events and hire an outside service to control weeds along curbs.
Tyler Fairchild, director of Public Works, outlined departmental challenges that prompted the recommendation to raise sanitation rates next year.
The borough managed programs such as e-waste and bulk-item events in-house, but they were becoming increasingly labor-intensive and costly. In particular, he pointed out that running the curbside weed program in-house costs twice as much as contracting it out.
Fleet replacement and repair costs have also significantly increased due to inflation and current economic factors.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection now requires the borough to comply with Act 101 by providing curbside waste collection at certain times of the year.
Some changes, such as moving the waste event off-site and removing the e-waste event, will free up staff to perform the mandated curbside waste collection. Outsourcing the weed control program will help reduce costs.
Fairchild initially expected to propose a $6-$9 increase in the sanitation utility, but his team reduced it to $5 by implementing those changes.
He noted that, even with the increase, Chambersburg borough residents will pay less for sanitation services than residents of nearby townships while receiving more services. For instance, those using Waste Management pay $48.35 per month for trash and recycling alone, while the borough provides eight additional services, including street sweeping and weed control.
As for where residents will take their bulky items, the borough is still discussing two locations. For e-waste, it would be the same location, but residents will have to pay the associated costs.
Chambersburg Aquatic operating at $200,000 deficit
Matthew Hutchison, director of recreation, said the borough expects a projected financial loss of around $200,000 by the end of 2026, as expenses to keep the aquatic center running far exceed revenue.
In terms of attendance, the pool had what Hutchison called a “down year.” The year before was also considered a “down year,” with about 62,000 total visitors. This year, attendance fell to around 54,000, suggesting a possible trend.
Poor weather also caused unexpected pool closures and lower attendance. Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill noted that weather patterns can disrupt the facility because its operations depend entirely on the weather and questioned whether this could become the new norm.
Lower attendance also reduced concession and vending revenue. As a result, revenue dropped by about $40,000, from roughly $888,000 last year to $849,000 this year.
This year’s total end-of-year revenue budget was significantly higher than in previous years, set at $1.1 million. Hutchison said this leaves them nearly $250,000 short of their revenue goal, while emphasizing that the revenue goal is separate from the expense goal.
He explained that to be in a good financial position, the total expenses should not exceed the nearly $849,000 in revenue generated this year– but they did.
Utility expense showed some of the biggest deviations from its goals, as they did not budget enough for the utility increase. Because it is a bulk utility bill, Hutchison said they could not identify which utility was driving up costs, though he will work with the utility departments to figure it out.
Pool maintenance spending was also nearly double its budget goal, while operating equipment spending exceeded its goal by more than three times. Together, expenses totaled over $1 million this year.
Including bond payments, both incoming and outgoing, predicted final revenue is around $1.3 million and predicted final expenses are $1.5 million, resulting in a loss of about $200,000.
Although Hutchison proposed ways to rein in some expenses, including reducing certain staffing levels, the larger issues still need to be addressed. Stonehill will prepare a 2027 budget without a customer rate increase while the council and the Recreation Advisory Committee work toward a better solution for 2028.
“…we have a business model issue with this facility, which is going to take us all thinking about ways to fix this over the course of, let’s say, the next year…” Stonehill said. “What’s the option? And that’s a very big conversation- not for 10 p.m. on a Monday night- but something that this council really needs to put some time and energy in.”
