Rush Township supervisors held a special meeting Wednesday to approve the tentative budget and set millage rates for 2026.

Despite not calling for a real estate tax increase, the packed meeting became heated at times with arguments breaking out among supervisors.

Before the meeting began, supervisor Robert Leibensperger commented on the higher than average attendance.

“Glad to see everybody listens to Facebook and all the false crap,” he said, referring to a post that said the township was increasing taxes.

Leibensperger noted that while the board attempted to approve a tentative budget in early November, it didn’t have updated numbers from Schuylkill County’s recent reassessment.

“I had to have surgery because I have prostate cancer. That’s why on the 10th we tried to (pass the proposed budget),” he said.

When correct county numbers were received last week, the budget had to be revamped and the special meeting had to be called, Leibensperger explained.

He noted that the county reassessed approximately 45% of properties at higher rates.

“I don’t want to hear this crap that your taxes are going up, because they’re not going up because of (Chairman) Shawn (Gilbert) and myself and even George (Gerhard),” Leibensperger said. “The county is the one that did the reassessment, not us.”

During the meeting, supervisors were split on approving the proposed budget and the real estate tax millage rate at 1.14 mills.

Gilbert and Leibensperger voted in favor, while Gerhard cast “no” votes on both the budget and millage.

Gilbert said that he and Leibensperger prepared the budget, and accused Gerhard of not knowing how to devise one. Gerhard began to say that he knew how to prepare one, but Gilbert continued the meeting.

“For 2026, it’s our budget,” Gilbert said. “Everything is not changing from what we did in the last couple years.”

The township hasn’t had a tax increase in 18 years, except for a 1-mill increase in 2025, which was for one year only.

“The most important thing here is taxes are not going up,” Gilbert said. “We haven’t raised taxes in 18 years and we’re not about to start now. So whatever you see on Facebook and all that crap that people put anonymously, it’s all lies.”

“It’s not a lie, Shawn,” Gerhard said. “What you guys did at the last meeting, you were raising taxes.”

“Why would I raise taxes to let you guys waste money?,” responded Gilbert, whose term expires at the end of the year.

Gerhard said that Gilbert and Leibensperger shouldn’t have approved the tentative budget before the county’s figures were finalized.

As for the millage, it includes 0.65 mill for general purposes, 0.08 mill for fire, 0.10 for building and 0.31 mill for infrastructure.

The final budget will likely be approved at supervisors’ December meeting.

The new board will be seated in January with Gerhard and newly elected supervisor James Stewart. A replacement for Leibensperger, whose resignation is effective Dec. 31, has not yet been appointed.

Under second class township code, the “new” board can change the budget, and can opt to increase real estate taxes by no more than 10%.

The proposed budget will be available for public inspection at the township building.