Original spending plan derailed by court ruling
The Upper Darby Township Council will hold a public hearing for its revised 2025 township budget at its regular meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15.
Council had previously approved a budget of $101 million on Nov. 20, which included a 1 percent earned income tax. However, a district court judge ruled that the tax could not be implemented because it was passed in violation of the township’s home rule charter. The tax was voted on at a meeting advertised as a “workshop,” during which substantive legislation may not be adopted except in an emergency.
At a Dec. 31 meeting, the council voted to keep the property tax the same at $1.402 per $100, and that fee increases already adopted, as well as a transfer from the reserve fund, would be used to cover the deficit caused by the loss of the earned income tax.
The deadline to approve the 2025 budget was Dec. 31, 2024. In theabsence of a new budget, the township is operating by default under the previous year’s budget of about $87 million for the year. The 2024 budget will remain in effect on a month-to-month basis until a 2025 budget is adopted.
Wednesday’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Upper Darby Municipal Building at 100 Garrett Road; Upper Darby.
