Upper Darby Council voted 7 to 3 Thursday night, approving the $97.8 million Upper Darby 2025 budget that pays for government services through the end of the year.
The vote was along party lines on the Democratically-controlled Council, with two Republicans and an independent voting no.
The budget deadline had been Dec. 31, but lawsuits and resident protests held it up, writes Katie Bernard for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The budget missed the deadline when a Delaware County judge struck down a proposed 1 percent earned income tax that would have provided $15 million in revenue before Thanksgiving for “procedural errors.”
The approved budget will instead draw money from the township’s reserve funds to make up for the missing tax.
“We have adapted and delivered a realistic 2025 budget,” said Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown.
That same earned income tax will be voted on next week and, if approved, would go into effect in August, so if the new tax kicks in, some of the reserve funds toward the budget would be held back.
Brown also urged the council to consider reducing property taxes if the earned income tax is authorized.
Read more about Upper Darby’s 2025 budget in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
