County Commissioners and Councils will be voting to approve their 2026 budgets in December. Many citizens are eager to determine if tax increases are looming prior to voting on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th. This is especially the case in Delaware County where two county council seats are up for election. However, those public hearings will not take place until the middle of November and early December. Given the financial uncertainty in our counties, every citizen should try to better understand how elected officials are using tax dollars. Listed below are the scheduled budget meetings for each county. Public comment is always welcome at the meetings, and we urge concerned citizens to make their voices heard.  

The Chester County Commissioners will hold a Public Meeting to discuss the proposed 2026 budget and to hear comments from residents. It will take place on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. at 313 West Market Street, 6th Floor, West Chester, PA. If you cannot attend the meeting in person, the county is offering a virtual attendance option. You can find the link here. Whether you attend in person or virtually, please go and comment on the proposed budget prior to its passage by the commissioners. When the proposed budget is made public, it will be found here. Chester County Commissioners will be voting upon the 2026 budget at their December 17, 2025 meeting, which will also have a virtual option for attendance.

If you go to the Delaware County website, there is no scheduled public meeting to discuss the 2026 budget, although three meetings were held in December 2024 for the 2025 budget feedback. However, according to Councilman Womack, as reported by the Delaware County Daily Times, the Budget Task Force will provide their final findings to County Council on Monday, November 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Since it is not publicly published, which we believe is a violation of the Sunshine Act, there won’t be an online viewing option. The meeting will be held at 201 W. Front Street, Media, PA.Please make an effort to attend!

Additionally, although no agendas have been published, we would expect that the budget will be discussed at the following meetings: Wednesday, November 12 and Wednesday, December 3, with a budget vote on Wednesday, December 10. All those meeting should have a virtual option which will be available closer to the time of the meetings.

Montgomery County will hold two public budget meetings on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede Street, Norristown. The morning session begins at 10:00 a.m., and the evening session begins at 5:30 p.m. Both public meetings will have a virtual option which can be accessed through the links associated with each session. Although the 2026 budget has not been made public to date, it will be published in the next few weeks here. Commenting about the 2026 budget during the public meetings is the only opportunity to give “on the record” feedback to the commissioners prior to their votes.

As the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked if the delegates produced a monarchy or a republic. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

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