Chester County residents will see a 13% property tax hike

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Being a homeowner in Chester County just got a tad more expensive.

The Chester County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to approve the 2025 budget — and a 13% property tax increase.

At the public meeting, Democratic commissioners Josh Maxwell and Marian Moskowitz defended the budget against pushback from residents and concerns from GOP Commissioner Eric Roe.

“I’m not claiming that there’s waste in this budget,” Roe said. “What I am claiming is that the price tag is just too high for the residents of Chester County.”

Although Roe credited the budget for containing worthwhile expenditures on public safety and government operations, he said “cash-strapped” residents can’t afford to live in Chesco and a property tax increase of this magnitude only makes it more expensive to call the county home.

“You have boroughs and townships and school districts raising their property taxes,” Roe said. “And in the aggregate, it’s all too much for the residents of my county to bear.”

Neither Maxwell nor Moskowitz were available for comment. Clashes over government spending have flipped budget season in the suburbs of Philadelphia on its head.

Infuriated residents lashed out at Delaware County Council’s near-unanimous approval of a 23% property tax increase during a public meeting last week. The average household in Delco will see an annual increase of $185 on their tax bill.

Elected officials in both counties have attributed tax increases to a necessity for a steady revenue stream and the ability to offer competitive pay for government employees.

Roe proposed a solution that he admitted wouldn’t be “savory.” He doesn’t want to lay anyone off, but said the county would have to make some cuts.

“I had the finance department do some number crunching. It would involve an 8.3% cut across the board, across all departments in county government,” he said. “And then, from there, we would try to come up with more funding so that we can make up some of that difference.”

Maxwell and Moskowitz didn’t see it as a realistic alternative.