Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Monday, February 16, 2026
Deeds Recorded—Columbia Borough—February 16, 2026
Bank Northwest conveyed property on a public road to Columbia Capital Group LLC for $25,000.
Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau, Vogelpohl David W. conveyed 540 Manor St. to John Baldauff for $48,500.
Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau, Bryant David H, Bryant Jane L. conveyed 648 Yohe Ave. to Coastline Capital LLC for $90,600.
The estate of Connie L. Frey conveyed 1222 Manor St. to Christopher Geltmacher for $1.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
About Town—February 15, 2026
This week's photos of Columbia
Click on photos to see larger, sharper images.
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
Bridge inspectors were at it again on the Route 462 Veterans Memorial Bridge on Friday. The other bridge, the Route 30 Wrights Ferry Bridge, is slated for inspection February 18 through 20.
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Snow and sunsets . . .
Borough workers were still clearing snow around town.
Snow at Mount Bethel
Snow in Locust Street Park
An unintentional snow creature?
Ice, cracking
Enjoying the view
Lots of Icicles
The obligatory picture of the bridge and the snow
A favorite for marking your space
Ditto
A snow pit
Outdoor furniture for dining in the snow
This sidewalk on North 5th (Route 462) was never cleared.
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Parts of Walnut Street are a mess.
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Don't mess with the Water Company!
Bank Avenue is closed as work continues on the Von Hess building.
Watch out for that hole!
This is an outbuilding behind the Wright's Ferry Mansion. The mansion is in the background, on the right.
Workers recently cleared heavy brush here.
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Valentine display
Blessing boxes on Walnut
It's more widespread than we thought, possibly reaching to the highest levels of government.
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Saturday, February 14, 2026
Columbia Borough Council approves $14,139 transmission replacement for aging dump truck
2005 Freightliner dump truck (example)
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
Columbia Borough Council voted 4-2 Tuesday night to approve a $14,139 transmission replacement for a borough-owned dump truck. Council members Jeanne Cooper and Ethan Byers were the two no votes. Councilwoman Joanne Geesey was absent.
A rebuilt transmission transmission will be installed within "a week or so" and will include a warranty, according to Highway Department Manager Jake Graham. The borough purchased the truck, a 2005 Freightliner, 16 years ago for $75,000. A new truck would cost about $250,000.
The borough received one bid for the repair from Good Transport Services, where the truck was towed.
"The recent snowstorm took its toll on three pieces of equipment," Highway Department Manager Jake Graham told council at a previous meeting. The transmission failure has left two of the borough's three dump trucks out of service, one of which needed repairs for an electrical issue.
"The recent snowstorm took its toll on three pieces of equipment," Highway Department Manager Jake Graham told council at a previous meeting. The transmission failure has left two of the borough's three dump trucks out of service, one of which needed repairs for an electrical issue.
Columbia Borough School District receives $179,599 tax equity grant, will vote on use at upcoming meeting | Community News | lancasteronline.com
MORGAN HUBER | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE
When: Columbia Borough school board meeting, Feb. 3.
What happened: The school district received a $179,599 state Ready to Learn tax equity grant for 2026-27, Keith Ramsey, business manager, said.
Background: This is the second year the district received the grant in this amount. For the 2025-26 year, the money was committed to a 3% tax reduction.
New grant: Kathleen Hohenadel, finance committee chair, presented five potential uses for this funding, including reducing debt, mitigating or replacing the loss of revenue, supplementing senior tax rebates, supplementing the amount for homestead and farmstead exclusion, or mitigating or preventing a millage increase.
What's next: The board will vote at the Feb. 19 meeting what it will use the grant for.
MORE:
Friday, February 13, 2026
Retiree overpaid by $17,449 from police pension plan; Auditor General cites Columbia Borough for repeat issues
Following are summaries of the Pennsylvania Auditor General's reports on two Columbia Borough pension plans. A link to the original document is provided at the end of each summary.
Summary: Compliance Audit Report for the Columbia Borough Police Pension Plan
This is a compliance audit report for the Columbia Borough Police Pension Plan in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, conducted by the Pennsylvania Auditor General in January 2026.
Key Points:
The audit examined whether the pension plan was administered in compliance with state laws and regulations for the period January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. The audit found that the plan was mostly compliant, but identified two significant findings:
Finding No. 1: The borough failed to correct a prior issue where an ordinance was improperly amended by resolution rather than by a new ordinance.
Finding No. 2: The borough is paying excess pension benefits to a retiree that aren't authorized by the plan's governing document. Specifically, the retiree is receiving $274 per month more than authorized (totaling approximately $17,449 in excess payments). This occurred because certain pay items were improperly included when calculating the retiree's average compensation for their Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) benefit.
Auditor's Concern: Both findings repeat issues from a prior audit that have not been corrected. The auditor expressed concern about the borough's failure to implement previous recommendations and strongly encouraged timely corrective action.
Recommendations: The borough should adjust the retiree's pension benefit prospectively to match what's authorized, and may need to reimburse the Commonwealth for any excess state aid received due to these overpayments.
This is a compliance audit report for Columbia Borough's Non-Uniformed Pension Plan in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, conducted by the Pennsylvania Auditor General in January 2026.
Main Purpose: The audit examined whether the pension plan was administered in compliance with state laws and whether prior recommendations were addressed.
Key Findings:
The audit identified two compliance issues:
Restated Plan Document Not Adopted by Ordinance (repeat finding) - The pension plan's terms were updated in a separate agreement with the plan custodian in 2013, but the governing ordinance was never formally amended to reflect these changes. This creates potential inconsistencies in benefit provisions.
Failure to Properly Fund Members' Accounts - The borough incorrectly funded employee pension accounts from 2020-2024:
Underfunded in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023
Overfunded in 2024
The borough must now pay interest on delinquent contributions.
Management Response: Borough officials acknowledged both findings. For the funding issue, they cited staff turnover and have implemented corrective measures including hiring a third-party administrator and clarifying the definition of compensation in the plan document.
Overall Conclusion: Aside from these two findings, the plan was administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The auditor expressed concern that the ordinance issue remains unresolved from the prior audit.
Summary: Compliance Audit Report for the Columbia Borough Police Pension Plan
Key Points:
The audit examined whether the pension plan was administered in compliance with state laws and regulations for the period January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. The audit found that the plan was mostly compliant, but identified two significant findings:
Finding No. 1: The borough failed to correct a prior issue where an ordinance was improperly amended by resolution rather than by a new ordinance.
Finding No. 2: The borough is paying excess pension benefits to a retiree that aren't authorized by the plan's governing document. Specifically, the retiree is receiving $274 per month more than authorized (totaling approximately $17,449 in excess payments). This occurred because certain pay items were improperly included when calculating the retiree's average compensation for their Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) benefit.
Auditor's Concern: Both findings repeat issues from a prior audit that have not been corrected. The auditor expressed concern about the borough's failure to implement previous recommendations and strongly encouraged timely corrective action.
Recommendations: The borough should adjust the retiree's pension benefit prospectively to match what's authorized, and may need to reimburse the Commonwealth for any excess state aid received due to these overpayments.
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Summary: Compliance Audit Report for Columbia Borough's Non-Uniformed Pension Plan
Main Purpose: The audit examined whether the pension plan was administered in compliance with state laws and whether prior recommendations were addressed.
Key Findings:
The audit identified two compliance issues:
Restated Plan Document Not Adopted by Ordinance (repeat finding) - The pension plan's terms were updated in a separate agreement with the plan custodian in 2013, but the governing ordinance was never formally amended to reflect these changes. This creates potential inconsistencies in benefit provisions.
Failure to Properly Fund Members' Accounts - The borough incorrectly funded employee pension accounts from 2020-2024:
Underfunded in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023
Overfunded in 2024
The borough must now pay interest on delinquent contributions.
Management Response: Borough officials acknowledged both findings. For the funding issue, they cited staff turnover and have implemented corrective measures including hiring a third-party administrator and clarifying the definition of compensation in the plan document.
Overall Conclusion: Aside from these two findings, the plan was administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The auditor expressed concern that the ordinance issue remains unresolved from the prior audit.
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