Increase of 23 percent comes after years of low or no raises, draws accusations of incompetence
The Delaware County Council approved its 2025 budget this week, which includes a controversial 23 percent increase in the property tax rate.
The totals $898.3 million, with an operating budget of $321.3 million, a 10.5 percent increase over 2024. The budget passed by a vote of 4-1, with Council members Monica Taylor, Kevin Madden, Elaine Paul Schaefer and Christine Reuther voting yes. Councilman Richard Womack voted no.
For a home in Delaware County with the average assessment of $255,108, the county tax bill will increase from $803.34 to $988.03, or $184.69.
During citizen’s comment time, several residents spoke on the budget, most of them opposed to the tax increase. Some cited the creation of the county health department and the de-privatization of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility as added expenditures that did not benefit most taxpayers.
There was a brief applause from the audience when the first resident to speak, Cathy from Haverford, who did not give her last name, said, “As a resident, we don’t need the health department. I refuse to have my taxes pay for someone’s tampons and condoms.”
Chris Meehan from Media offered a similar comment: “Every month: Spend, spend, spend. I didn’t need a county health center. But I got one. I certainly didn’t want the county to run a prison. But here we are.”
In response to a citizen’s request for clarification, Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther pointed out that the county tax makes up a small portion of the total property – about 10 percent for most residents – with the rest of the tax being paid t the municipality and the school district. So residents will not see a 23 percent increase to their total property tax, only the count portion.
In her budget presentation to council earlier this month, County Executive Diretor Barbara 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.
O’Malley acknowledged the burden the tax 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 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.
