Chester council advances 2025 budget-related ordinances after debate over review time

Mayor Stefan Roots and Chester City Council read a series of ordinances related to the 2025 budget on first reading Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, after a contested motion to table the bills failed to gain majority support.

Councilor Lisa Green asked the council to table bills 11 through 19, saying she and other council members had been given only two days to review “a $70,000,000 budget” and that approving the ordinances without adequate time to review would not be “in good conscience.” Green said, “I cannot approve a budget that I have not had opportunity to thoroughly review.”

Why it matters: the package includes the city’s general fund appropriation for 2025, routine tax-code renewals and fee schedules and would set the framework for how the city spends in 2025. Council debate focused on process and the amount of time elected members had to analyze the materials before the first-reading votes.

Council deliberations and votes

Council considered a motion to table bills 11–19 early in the meeting. The roll call on that motion recorded the following: Councilor Gibson—No; Councilor Green—Yes; Councilor West—Yes; Councilor Davis—No; Mayor Stefan Roots—No. The motion to table did not carry.

After the clerk read each ordinance in full, council members voted on first reading. The ordinances and recorded first-reading votes included:

- Bill 11: 2025 appropriations and general fund budget (general fund set at $62,749,420; total general fund expense before unpaid pensions listed as $62,749,420; prior unpaid pensions itemized at $41,200,000). Roll call: Gibson—Yes; Green—No; West—No; Davis—Yes; Mayor Roots—Yes. Outcome: approved on first reading.

- Bills 12–19: a set of ordinances covering employee pay and compensation (bill 12), business privilege tax (bill 13), earned income tax (bill 14), local services tax (bill 15), real property tax rate and library tax (bill 16), refuse fee increase (bill 17), a consolidated master fee schedule (bill 18), and an amendment to the 2024 budget (bill 19). Each of those bills was approved on first reading by the same recorded margin: Gibson—Yes; Green—No; West—No; Davis—Yes; Mayor Roots—Yes.

During discussion Councilor Green and others argued that municipal practice in many jurisdictions is to provide council members weeks (or months) to review budget materials before first reading. Councilor Green said, “It is disrespectful that council continues to be disrespected in this regard.” Councilor Davis and others said some of the ordinances are routine (some items were described as “consistent with the ordinances that we pass every year”) and that the city charter and the 3rd Class City Code allow amendments between first and final readings.

Officials’ explanation and next steps

Chief of Staff Thomas Moore and Chief Financial Officer Richard Troutman told council and the public that the first readings were part of a multi-step process and that staff would continue to work with council on changes before final adoption. Troutman said the city faced fiscal constraints and that staff had tried to preserve core services without increasing taxes, explaining that the city had “upwards of $7,000,000 less to work with this year” and had mandatory pension payments and other fiscal pressures.

Troutman and Moore also laid out a timeline for further public input and final action: a public hearing was proposed at the council’s scheduled deliberative meeting on Dec. 9, with final adoption targeted for Dec. 18 and an additional meeting on Dec. 26 if more time is needed.

Context and specifics cited in ordinance text

The clerk’s reading of Bill 11 set the 2025 general fund at $62,749,420, listed revenue categories (for example, real estate and library taxes at $9,917,000; host fees at $16,266,000) and identified departmental allocations (for example, Department of Public Safety and Department of Public Works line items). The reading also noted prior-year unpaid pensions totaling $41,200,000 that, when combined with the 2025 appropriations, produced a larger total expense figure.

Councilors and staff emphasized that the first-reading votes do not finalize the budget and that line items and allocations may be adjusted in subsequent deliberations and the public hearing.

Ending

Council scheduled additional deliberations and public engagement before final adoption. Council members opposing the first readings said they would continue to press for more lead time and detail; supporters said the readings were necessary to keep the budgeting process moving while allowing for later amendments.