The proposal, released this week, comes after two consecutive years of double-digit tax hikes that drew angry reactions from residents and exposed divisions on the all-Democratic Delaware County Council. The total budget is 5.4% higher than the previous year, but county officials say they can cover the added costs without drawing on the general fund or using the remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

"When you're a largely developed and built-out county, you've only got one real way to raise more money and that's to raise the mill rate," said Council Vice Chair Christine Reuther. "But this year, I'm glad we don't have to do it, but it is going to be a tight budget."

Council Chair Richard Womack said the goal is to ease the burden on homeowners. "We want to try to give our residents a break," he said. "We don't want to continue to balance the budget on their backs and we know that there has been a poor economy."

The shift follows a contentious budget cycle last year, when council members voted 4-1 to approve a 19% property tax increase aimed at closing a long-standing structural deficit. Councilmember Elaine Paul Schaefer cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the hike was too steep given the economic climate.

"There's nothing less unhealthy than a group of people who don't question each other and everything that's in front of them running a government," Schaefer said. "I'd say that this council shares a value system and shares an outlook of how government should work. That doesn't mean that we agree on every single measure and how to achieve that value system."

Democrats took control of the county council in 2019 for the first time since the Civil War. Council members have attributed the 2026 tax increase to the prior Republican majority, which they say went years without raising taxes while deferring major expenses, including the creation of a county health department and the takeover of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility from a private operator.

Schaefer said she believes the county has since put its finances on firmer footing. "We have really turned this government into a professionally run and responsible government," she said. "So, cost-cutting measures are constantly in place all across the government."

Reuther cautioned that the spending plan still must go through public scrutiny and that department heads should expect lean times ahead. "We haven't given ourselves a lot of cushions, so as we go through the year, we're going to have to be careful stewards of the money we do have," she said.

County Executive Director Barbara O'Malley is scheduled to formally present the budget to council on Dec. 2. Two budget hearings are set for Dec. 3, and officials plan to vote on the plan Dec. 9.

Looking ahead, Schaefer said residents should not expect the county to go another extended stretch without tax increases. "It's unrealistic and it puts you in a hole that's very difficult and painful to crawl out of," she said.