2026 Lebanon city budget sets up 11th straight year with no tax increase

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon City Council on Monday night gave final approval to the city’s 2026 annual budget, and for the 11th straight year property owners will see no rise in their city real estate taxes.

The spending plan anticipates expenses next year of $18,099,057, a 5.93% increase over 2025. 2026 revenues are anticipated at $15,235, 353, a 6.2% increase over 2025. A $2,863,353 2025 surplus will be carried forward to balance the budget.

Immediately after approving the budget, council preliminarily approved the 2026 property tax rate, which will remain at $4.581 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. To become final, council will have to approve the rate a second time at a special public meeting to be held on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 4:45 p.m., immediately before the monthly pre-council meeting at City Hall.

According to Mayor Sherry Capello, the average assessed value of a city property is $104,636, which results in a $479 annual city property tax bill.

Or, as the mayor put it, “$1.31 a day for police and fire protection 24/7/365, snow plowing, salting … and all the services we provide here at the city.”

New chief gives police department update

Newly appointed city police Chief Eric Sims briefed council on his department’s activities throughout the year.

“In 2025, our numbers remained stable as far as hiring and recruiting,” the chief reported. “We brought on four new additions in 2025, and we are currently in the hiring process, hoping to bring some new police officers onto the street.”

Sims outlined the department’s transition to a new crime reporting and statistical system. The department moved in 2025 from the Uniform Crime Reporting system, used to report crime data to the FBI since 1930, to the newer National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). At present, only about 12% of Pennsylvania police forces have switched to NIBRs, Sims said.

Capello and Sims noted that in the first year after switching over, the differing statistical methods used by each system may slightly distort year-over-year crime rate comparisons, but only by 2% to 3%.

Sims also described a new report management system being used since Feb. 1 by officers on patrol. “The officers for the most part seem to like it,” he said, “mainly because of the ease of access … it allows them to do most of their reports from inside their vehicles.

“The other good thing about [the new report management system] is that we collaborated with North Cornwall Township and North Lebanon, the newly formed Lebanon County Regional [police department], so we all share records and their database of individuals and vehicles and we’re able to search them and vice versa. It’s great for information sharing with our sister departments.”

Other business before city council

• Through Oct. 31, with the budget year 83% complete, the mayor reported that year-to-date revenues and expenses were at 98% and 78%, respectively, of 2025 budget projections.
• The mayor informed council that she has appointed Edward Lynch to fill the unexpired term of the late George Christianson on the City of Lebanon Authority, expiring on Jan. 1, 2028. The authority provides municipal water and sewer service. Lynch has served on the city’s zoning hearing board for the past 20 years.
• Council passed a resolution authorizing city administrators to destroy certain old police department records from 2020 through 2022, as authorized by state law.
• Council passed an ordinance on final reading setting rules, regulations, and fees for the city’s new dog park at Coleman Memorial Park. Annual fees to use the park will be $30 for city residents and $45 for non-city residents. Each additional dog will cost $10. A three day pass, resident or not, will be $15.
• The mayor said that the city is awaiting final inspections of the new dog park, and that it “probably” will not open before the first of the year.
• The mayor announced that the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s audited the city’s Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 21, 2024, and made two findings: the association’s bond was insufficient, and $1,503 of unauthorized expenses, primarily to hire a consultant to apply for a grant, had been incurred. The association acknowledged both errors and has taken steps to rectify them.
• Council on first reading preliminarily amended the city ordinance covering residential rental licensing and inspections to increase the annual rental unit fee from $40 to $60, and the rooming house unit fee from $20 to $30.

Next Lebanon City Council meetings

City Council’s next pre-council planning meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 4:45 p.m. The next regular monthly council meeting will be on Monday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m.

Both meetings are open to the public and will be held in the City Hall multi-purpose room, 735 Cumberland St., first floor, Lebanon. Meetings are streamed live on YouTube here.