Delaware County taxpayers won’t see their county taxes go up next year, but the trade-off is that the county council will eliminate 241 positions to make up for a $23 million shortfall, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.

A $352 million preliminary budget will receive a first reading on Dec. 2 followed by a public presentation on Dec. 8 and a final passage Dec. 16.

This would be the seventh year without a county tax increase, even though revenues remain flat with only a 1 percent increase.

To balance the budget without raising taxes, expenses need to be reduced by 7 to 10 percent.

Increased efficiency makes it possible to eliminate 241 out of 1,758 positions, many of them vacant, according to County Council Chairman Brian Zidek.

Others can be eliminated because of the increased efficiencies in government operations.

At a Main Line Chamber presentation Friday, Zidek said he favors prioritizing technology to eliminate redundancies.

“The state of the county here in Delaware County is strong and we have just gotten started,” he said. “There is a lot more that we can do to make Delaware County more efficient and to relieve the burden on taxpayers in Delaware County.”

Read more about the Delaware County budget at the Daily Times.

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