Borough Of Berwick

What Borough Of Berwick does

Borough of Berwick is a Pennsylvania municipal government entity serving approximately 10,477 residents (2010 census) across 4,475 households and 4,984 housing units within a 3.25 square mile jurisdiction that straddles Columbia and Luzerne Counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was settled in 1769 by Evan Owen, founded in 1786, incorporated as a borough in 1818, and consolidated with West Berwick in 1917; its population peaked at 14,010 in 1950 before a long secular decline. Governance is provided through an elected Mayor (Tim Burke), a seven-member Borough Council (presided over by Council President Jeri Wozniak), and an appointed Borough Manager (Damien Scoblink) overseeing Administration, Treasurer/Payroll Clerk (Cassandra Mowery), Director of Government Services (Teresa Peters), three Code Enforcement Officers (Michael Downs, Curt Rider, Nicoll Oliver), a Codes Secretary/Receptionist (Janet Hunsinger), a Working Foreman (Jack Kyttle) and Assistant Foreman (Michael Long) leading a Department of Public Works of about eight full-time staff, plus a Police Chief (Ken Strish) and an elected Fire Chief (William Coolbaugh) heading a volunteer fire department consolidated from West Berwick Hose Company No. 1, Reliance Fire Company No. 1, and Ranger Hose Company No. 2. Public safety, code enforcement, permitting, public works, and parks/recreation services are delivered; the borough maintains over 60 miles of streets, seven parks (Test Track, Ber-Vaughn, four neighborhood parks, and Downtown Park), the Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool, a single-stream recycling program, and signature community events including the long-running Christmas Boulevard (since 1947) and the annual Riverfest.

The borough's operating model relies on standard municipal technology rather than any proprietary platform: a TipCMS-powered public website (berwickborough.org), email-based communications ([email protected], [email protected]), electronic permit submission workflows, and a single Facebook social channel. Service delivery is omnichannel - in-person at the City Hall at 1800 N. Market Street, by phone (570-752-2723), and online - across functions including building and demolition permits, contractor and landlord licensing, code enforcement, snow removal, street sweeping, leaf and brush collection, recycling collection, and parks maintenance.

Revenue is generated through a horizontal, geographically bounded model with three streams: recurring municipal tax revenue (primarily property tax on the 4,984 housing units), transactional permit and license fees (e.g., $40 annual landlord license renewals; building, demolition, zoning, occupancy, and amusement permits), and transactional recreation/event fees (Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool summer passes, Riverfest vendor fees). The customer base is essentially the residential population of the borough plus property owners/developers needing permits and event organizers/vendors, and there are no enterprise customers, no pricing tiers, and no AI/ML components in the service stack.

Name

Borough Of Berwick

Legal name

Borough of Berwick

Website

https://berwickborough.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1786

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Borough of Berwick is a Pennsylvania municipal government providing public safety, public works, parks and recreation, code enforcement, permitting, and community-event services to approximately 10,500 residents across 4,475 households in a 3.25 square mile jurisdiction spanning Columbia and Luzerne Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (BPAIACAI), Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE)

Keywords

• Municipal government services
• Public works operations
• Parks and recreation
• Code enforcement
• Volunteer fire services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berwick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tax Revenue: Standard municipal government revenue from local taxes including property taxes levied on the 4,984 housing units and residents of Berwick Borough
2. Permit and License Fees: Revenue from building permits, contractor licenses, amusement licenses, landlord licenses, and various other municipal permits and licenses
3. Recreation Program Fees: Revenue from Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool passes and summer recreation programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Borough of Berwick delivers core municipal services to its residents, including police and volunteer fire protection, Department of Public Works operations (snow removal, street sweeping, leaf and brush collection, road patching, park maintenance) across 60+ miles of streets, single-stream recycling collection and drop-off, building permits and code enforcement, and parks and recreation facilities (Test Track Park, Ber-Vaughn Park, Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool). It also administers annual community events such as Riverfest and the long-standing Christmas Boulevard, issues licenses and permits, and maintains neighborhood parks and public spaces for resident use.

Product overview

The Borough of Berwick is a municipal government providing public services and community facilities. The borough operates a parks and recreation system including Test Track Park (riverside park with trails and boat launch), Ber-Vaughn Park (sports fields and pavilions), and Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool. Municipal services include a single-stream recycling program, Department of Public Works (snow removal, street maintenance, park maintenance across 60+ miles of streets), building permits and code enforcement, and volunteer fire protection services. The borough also organizes the annual Riverfest community event. All services are provided as standard municipal government functions rather than a technology product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Test Track Park A riverside park bordering the Susquehanna River featuring approximately one mile of hiking/biking trails, a floating boat launch, open green space, shoreline fishing, and hosting community events such as Riverfest and WWII Re-Enactment Weekend. Offered by the Borough of Berwick for resident and visitor recreation.
• Ber-Vaughn Park A recreational park featuring pavilions for events, two baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball hoops, and access to the Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool. Operated by the Borough for community recreation.
• Ber-Vaughn Swimming Pool A renovated public swimming pool facility offering summer passes and special events including movie nights, doggie dips, and craft shows with food trucks. Operated by the Borough of Berwick for residents and visitors.
• Borough Recycling Program A single-stream recycling program accepting paper, plastic, and metals, with curbside pickup on scheduled dates and a drop-off center at Test Track Park open Wednesdays and Saturday mornings for borough residents.
• Department of Public Works Services Core public works services including snow removal, street sweeping, storm inlet maintenance, road patching, park maintenance, leaf and brush collection, street painting, and traffic light maintenance delivered across more than 60 miles of borough streets by the Borough's Department of Public Works.
• Building Permits and Code Enforcement Building inspection and code enforcement services handling new construction, site plan development, property maintenance ordinance compliance, plan reviews, and issuance of building, demolition, driveway, fence, and zoning permits for property owners, contractors, and developers in the borough.
• Berwick Fire Department A volunteer fire department consisting of four separate departments (West Berwick Hose Company No. 1, Reliance Fire Company No. 1, Ranger Hose Company No. 2) governed by a Fire Board, providing modern firefighting services with state-of-the-art equipment and training to borough residents.
• Riverfest Community Event An annual community celebration held at Test Track Park featuring food vendors, entertainment, live performances, and activities honoring the waterways. Vendor applications are accepted; the 15th Annual Riverfest is scheduled for October 9-11, 2026.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Salem TownshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal project partner in the WalkWorks Active Transportation Planning program. Salem Township's partnership and support helped make Berwick's participation in the program possible.
• Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministering agency for the Pennsylvania WalkWorks Active Transportation Planning program that Berwick Borough is participating in.
• Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the WalkWorks Active Transportation Planning program working in conjunction with PA DOH.
• WalkWorks Program ConsultantminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBorough is working with a consultant through the WalkWorks program to guide the active transportation planning process, assess current conditions, and develop recommendations.
• Hailstone Economic and OmnesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartners in the Columbia County Placemaking Initiative that completed an extensive study of Berwick's parks, including Test Track Park, to develop a vision for future park development.
• Pennsylvania American WaterminorOthersWater utility provider that offers customer assistance programs (H2O Help to Others) that the borough helps communicate to constituents. Government affairs contact Seth Rolko coordinates with borough.
• Berwick Area School DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool district operating multiple schools in the Berwick area (Berwick Area Senior High School, West Berwick Elementary, Berwick Middle School, Salem Elementary, Nescopeck Elementary). Borough provides links to school information.
• SEDA-COG (Susquehanna Valley)minorOthersSEDA Council of Governments providing HUD information and Fair Housing resources for Berwick residents through the borough website.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Salem Township: Adjacent Columbia County township that is already a documented WalkWorks partner with Berwick. Comparable in scale and services mix, and a natural peer for cross-joint municipal collaboration on infrastructure and recreation.
• Borough of Kingston: Luzerne County borough along the Susquehanna River with comparable population, riverfront park infrastructure, and a similar mix of residential neighborhoods, code enforcement needs, and active community events.
• City of Sunbury: Small Pennsylvania city of comparable size on the Susquehanna River, with a similar legacy industrial base, volunteer fire coverage, and reliance on parks, code enforcement, and street maintenance as core service lines.
• City of Nanticoke: Small Pennsylvania city in Luzerne County (Berwick's neighboring county) of roughly 10,000 residents. Provides an essentially identical slate of municipal services (DPW, code enforcement, recreation, police/fire) to a demographically similar post-industrial population.
• Borough of Bloomsburg: County seat of Columbia County and the other principal small-town PA municipality in the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. Operates the same mix of DPW, police/fire, code enforcement, parks and recreation, and permitting services for a comparable population, making it the closest geographic and functional peer.
• Borough of Mount Carmel: Small Northumberland County borough of comparable population (~5,700) with comparable demographic profile (older population, legacy manufacturing decline), making it a useful operational peer for lean-staff municipal service delivery.
• City of Hazleton: Larger Luzerne County municipality (~25,000) operating the same full-stack municipal services. Useful as a peer for how a small PA city scales code enforcement, DPW, and parks operations as population and budget grow.
• Borough of Tamaqua: Small eastern Pennsylvania borough of comparable population (~7,000) with a similar mix of DPW services, volunteer fire coverage, parks and recreation programming, and code enforcement structure.
• Borough of Pittston: Luzerne County borough of similar population (~8,000) with comparable legacy manufacturing heritage, volunteer-strained services, and active downtown revitalization efforts, including signature events and riverside park development that parallel Berwick's Riverfest/Test Track Park strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Columbia County (PA): The county in which Berwick partially sits; provides overlapping broader public-administration, planning, and conservation-program services through agencies like SEDA-COG. Useful peer for understanding how county-level programming layers on top of borough-level delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/berwick.borough
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/borough-of-berwick

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Borough Of Berwick