The Borough of Parryville is in desperate need of resident volunteers to serve on borough council.

According to council President Jason Smith, there is “one full vacancy and maybe more by the end of the year.” He said that he is uncertain of the future of the board and the future of Parryville if no one volunteers.

“We have two options. We can drop to a three-person board and then three people run the whole borough,” Smith said.

The other option, according to Smith, is to dissolve the borough.

Smith encouraged everyone to “talk to your neighbors. Talk to your friends.” He said he is “making one last plea” before he must explore other options, which could include dissolving the borough into a neighboring community.

“I don’t know what else to do and how to move forward,” he said.

In addition to lacking volunteers, the borough is financially struggling to meet the rising costs of bills, services and equipment. For the first time in more than a decade, the borough voted on a 1 mill tax increase for 2024.

“Taxes have not been raised in over 10 years, and that’s not sustainable,” Smith said.

Equipment, like the borough dump truck, needs servicing to be ready for plow season, and a new dump truck is needed to do bigger jobs. The board approved the purchase of a dump truck, not to exceed $112,000.

The council also discussed the following items:

• Other equipment, like playground equipment, was purchased through a grant and is waiting to be installed, but requires volunteers to help with installation.

• The borough continues to seek grant opportunities for the fire department and funding resources to cover the costs of upcoming sewage requirements.

• During the open session, Matt Shupp, the owner of a business on Main Street, had some concerns about late charges he is receiving for garbage pickup and a broken drainpipe in the nearest storm drain at the corner of Main and Center streets. Smith said he would investigate both issues.

• The fire department will host the Christmas tree this year, and the lighting will be at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Fire Hall. Breakfast with Santa will be on Dec. 3. There will be a Children’s Toy Bingo and a Basket Social at 2 p.m. on Dec. 10 in the fire hall.