Patrick
Hike would come after decade of low or no rate increases
Delaware County’s executive director on Tuesday presented a proposed 2025 budget to the County Council that would raise property taxes 23 percent, and would leave the county with a “rainy day fund” well below recommended levels.
If passed, the tax impact on the average homeowner in the county, with a home assessed at approximately $225,000, would be $15.39 a month, or $184.69 a year.
Executive Director Barbara O’Malley presented the proposed budget to the county council, and said that years or low or no tax rate increases in the face of high inflation made a large increase in next year’s budget unavoidable. The county increased the tax rate five percent in the 2024 budget, it’s only increase since 2014.
The proposed 2025 budget would total $898.3 million, with an operating budget of $321.3 million, a 10.5 percent increase over 2024.
O’Malley said the county has strived to contain costs in recent years by eliminating rather than filling some vacant employee positions, resulting in a 1.7 percent reduction in the county government workforce between 2019 and 2024. The government as also consolidated some office space to reduce leasing costs, O’Malley said. She also cited savings from adopting more efficient technology, such as LED lighting and VOIP phones.
In her presentation to Council, O’Malley acknowledged the burden the taax would put on county residents.
“This is not anything that we do lightly,” O’Malley said. “We looked at all these different avenues – cutting expenses, increasing revenue other areas – however we do need to take this step and are recommending this to Council as a necessary step to continue to provide quality services in Delaware County.”
O’Malley cited a inflation of nearly 23.5 percent since 2014 and said that the relatively low increases in the county revenue during that time had not kept up. In particular, she mentioned sharp increases in food costs at county institutions such as the Fair Acres assisted living home and the George W. Hill Correctional facility.
In 2023, the county spent $37.8 million from the fund balance, and then another $10.7 million in 2024. For the upcoming year, the budget would draw another $12.9 from the fund balance.
The proposed budget would leave the county with only $16 million in the budget reserve, which would represent only five percent of the county’s annual operating budget. O’Malley said best practice is to keep a amount equal to at least 10 percent of the annual operating budget in the reserve, both to fund unforeseen needs and to receive a more favorable interest rate when borrowing money or issuing bonds.
