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Council creates Capital Projects Sales Tax commission; timeline and membership explained
Summary
Chester County Council approved Resolution 2025-8 to create the Capital Projects Sales and Use Tax (CPST) Commission for the 2025–26 cycle and heard a staff overview of membership formula, deadlines and next steps.
Chester County Council voted to approve Resolution 2025-8, establishing the Capital Projects Sales and Use Tax (CPST) Commission for the 2025–26 cycle and authorizing initial steps in the CPST process.
County staff explained that the resolution performs the statutory step of creating the commission and specifies the number of members each municipality may select. County attorney and staff described the commission's role: to propose a list of capital projects and a referendum question for the council's consideration. If the council approves the referendum question, the question would be submitted for a public vote.
The presentation described the statutory membership formula: the CPST commission must have six members, three appointed from incorporated municipalities and three appointed from the county's unincorporated areas. Using the 2020 Census data and the statutory formula, staff said the City of Chester is entitled to name one municipal member; that appointee must then select two additional municipal members from other incorporated municipalities, meaning at least three different municipalities will be represented among the municipal appointees.
Staff told council the City of Chester has 30 days after adoption to select its member; if the city does not act, Chester County Council may appoint the member. The commission will develop a project list and a referendum question; if council approves placement on the ballot, county staff indicated the deadline to finalize the referendum question would be before Aug. 15, 2026, and the measure would appear on a November ballot if council and election officials proceed on that schedule.
Council members asked procedural questions about how municipal picks are made and the reasoning behind the statutory formula; staff said the distribution is designed to ensure both city and unincorporated areas are represented and that appointees from municipalities may vote for county projects and vice versa.
Council approved the resolution by voice vote. Staff said subsequent steps include municipal selections, county nominations and confirmation of members at a future council meeting, then the commission's work to compile project proposals for council review.
