Delaware County Council on Wednesday approved a 19% property tax increase for 2026, ending weeks of tense public comment and marking the second consecutive year of a double-digit hike.

The $340 million budget passed on a 4–1 vote. For a homeowner with an average assessment of $255,000, the increase adds about $188 a year — roughly $16 a month. Last year's 23% increase added about $184 to similar tax bills.

Although only about two dozen residents attended Wednesday's meeting, several spoke out passionately against the back-to-back increases. Some shouted out of turn during public comment, prompting council to warn they might call a recess if the room did not stay orderly.

"You tried to ignore us, but we will not be silenced," one resident said during the meeting.

A few residents who served on a bipartisan volunteer budget task force said they believed the increase could have been higher without some of the group's recommendations.

"I will say that some of the things that we talked about in our group, I think, kept the taxes from going up another 23%," Paul Rogers, of Media, said.

County officials said the increase was necessary to address what they call a "structural deficit" inherited by the current council, along with rising inflation costs, increased employee healthcare costs, as well as state and federal budget issues, including Pennsylvania's budget impasse and the federal government shutdown earlier this year. They said property tax hikes are their only tool to close that gap.

"This needs to occur. I don't like it, but it needs to occur," Councilman Kevin Madden said during the meeting.

County officials said the budget eliminates the deficit, though acknowledging "it does come at a cost to our taxpayers." They also said they do not expect similarly steep increases in future years.

The new tax rate takes effect in January.