Although the Bucks County $516 million 2026 operating budget proposal does not include tax increases for residents, county commissioners are currently leaving this possibility open while they deal with a projected $16.4 million deficit and rising expenses, writes Fallon Roth for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said “there’s no question” that a tax increase is a possibility, and that the budget proposal is still a work in progress.

“The biggest thing that I’m going to be looking at, besides cutting and seeing what we can do, is if we were to have to increase taxes, to make it, you know, pennies, as small as we can, so that it’s not impacting people,” said Ellis-Marseglia, the board’s vice chair.

County expenses are expected to climb by 3.2 percent, totaling more than $16.2 million.

This increase stems from essential upgrades and replacements of public safety resources, investments in capital improvement projects, as well as maintaining continued financial support for the county library system and Bucks County Community College.

Meanwhile, revenue is projected to decline by roughly $531,000, which is around 0.1 percent.

Read more about the 2026 operating budget and commissioners’ plans to deal with the projected deficit in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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