MEDIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Officials in Delaware County want to raise a portion of the property tax by 23%. If the proposal passes through County Council, it would be the second property tax hike in as many years.
“No one wants to increase taxes,” says County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor, but it’s necessary.
“There hasn’t been an increase in taxes or revenue for the county government over the last decade, except for the increase that we had last year over taxes, and that has caused a deficit over time.”
Last year’s increase was 5%. This year’s proposed increase is 23%.
“The average assessed value home is about $255,000 in Delaware County, so it would be about $185 annual increase,” she said.
Taylor says they’ve already made department cuts to try and balance the budget.
“At this point, this is what we need to do to have a sustainable government moving forward.”
Council is scheduled to vote on the $397 million budget next Wednesday.
Correction: This story has been updated to correctly reflect that last year's property tax increase was 5%, not 10%.