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On Wednesday night, Delaware County Council passed their 2026 budget, ensuring financial stability and funding essential county services for the coming year. The vote came after months of careful consideration, a detailed presentation from Executive Director Barbara O’Malley, and feedback from the public culminating in public budget hearings on Monday and public comment at Wednesday’s meeting.
The budget totals $957.8 million and consists of the operating budget, capital budget, fiscal budget, and Fair Acres budget. Discussions largely centered around the operating budget, which is the only one funded by taxes collected by the county and amounts to $340.4 million.
“For far too long, Delaware County has underinvested in essential services, infrastructure, and the systems that our residents rely on daily,” said Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor. “For the first time in nearly a decade, this budget puts Delaware County on track to have a truly balanced budget. One built on recurring revenue that matches recurring expenses rather than temporary fixes.”
Council and the Executive Director outlined the steps the county has taken to reduce expenses by implementing a hiring freeze for non-essential employees, making changes to the employee benefit program, centralizing contracts, and doing in-depth departmental budget reviews while requesting a flat budget.
The Budget Task Force, which was created this year and championed by Vice Chair Richard Womack, played a big part in the creation of the 2026 budget. Many of the recommendations made by the Task Force were used in the budget and will continue to be implemented in the future. The Task Force included over 60 residents and didn’t turn away anyone who volunteered, with subcommittees on capital investments, revenue enhancements, budget presentation, and cost containment. For more information about the Budget Task Force, visit delcopa.gov/budget-task-force.
“It was a diverse group,” said Vice Chair Womack. “Republicans, Democrats, business owners, people that worked in healthcare, accountants. I can’t ask for any more and I look forward to continuing working with them.”
Councilmember Christine Reuther dug into the investment Council has made in personnel. She explained that the County’s starting salary has increased nearly 60% since her time on Council began.
“The increase in personnel costs was a conscious decision to attract the kind of employees we need and retain the highly skilled employees we already have, because we were so far behind everybody else.” Reuther said.
The budget includes a property tax enhancement of $15.67 per month for the average Delaware County homeowner. This is necessary because of rising costs, years of stagnant revenue growth, and the fact that the county is no longer receiving American Rescue Plan funds. One third of Delco residents will see an increase of less than $100 for 2026.
“The tax increase included in this budget is a serious and difficult step and I understand the burden it places on our residents,” said Taylor. “None of us support this increase lightly. But continuing the cycle of patching holes, deferring costs, and pretending the deficit will fix itself would be irresponsible and would only worsen the situation.”
Councilmember Kevin Madden shared his viewpoint, saying “our primary responsibility is to ensure that this county is on solid financial footing. Make no mistake, absent this increase tonight, that would not be the case. We would run out of money.”
Delaware County relies on property taxes for 70% of their revenue, compared to the 25% average for local governments nationwide. This is because Pennsylvania is one of only six states where counties are not allowed to collect revenue using other taxes. Additionally, Executive Director O’Malley explained that for every dollar the average homeowner pays in property taxes, just 14 cents of it goes to the county. The remaining money goes to the local municipality or school district.
The budget will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and can be accessed here.
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