City of Chester reviews 2025 budget, tax and salary ordinances; pulls fee-schedule for more review

City of Chester council members at a deliberative meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 reviewed a slate of final-reading ordinances covering the 2025 budget, the 2025 salary ordinance, business privilege and earned-income taxes, the 2025 local services tax, the 2025 real estate tax levy and a refuse collection fee, and considered three resolutions including handicap parking zones, a bank depository amendment and an MOU for park lighting.

The matters are part of the council’s year-end actions to set tax and fee levels and finalize budget and administrative details for 2025. The items were presented for final reading; the transcript of the meeting records questions and staff clarifications but does not record final roll-call votes.

“The following ordinances will be voted on at council,” the city solicitor said while reciting the list of bills and resolutions on the agenda. The solicitor identified each item by bill and ordinance number, including the 2025 budget (final reading of bill no. 11, ordinance no. 10), the salary ordinance (final reading of bill no. 12 / ordinance no. 11), and other tax- and fee-related ordinances for 2025.

A councilmember flagged a potential duplication in the salary ordinance, noting that the title “special assistant to the chief of staff” appears twice, once under public affairs and once under the solicitor’s office. The city solicitor responded that it represents a single person paid from two department budgets and said the amount is for one position. The councilmember asked whether the duplicate listing should be consolidated; the solicitor and staff agreed it is the same person and will be reflected appropriately.

Council members also asked about several items of nomenclature and documentation. A councilmember questioned whether an “intern” line in the council-administration section represents a current position or a request for next year; staff said it is an existing individual in the IT department. Another question addressed line items labeled “presale/quality of life” under Community and Economic Development; staff said those are existing employees in licenses and inspections and agreed to relabel them as code enforcement officers in the salary ordinance.

On the proposed amendment to the 2024 budget (final reading of bill no. 19 / ordinance no. 17), a councilmember said the packet included only a single page and asked for the full list of line-item amendments. The solicitor said the attachment in council members’ black binders contains the chart-of-accounts changes and that staff will ensure the supporting documentation is attached to the final order.

Council members discussed a minor administrative resolution that would change signatories on a bank depository resolution previously approved; the solicitor said the new version simply updates signatories and does not require reading the entire resolution again.

A question about the library tax elicited a staff clarification: the library tax rate will remain the same in 2025 as it was in 2024. The solicitor also said the refuse collection fee is changing; during the meeting the solicitor said, “the refuse fee is going up to 3.50 as opposed to 300,” a phrasing in the transcript that council members did not further clarify during the recorded discussion. The council agreed to remove the fee-schedule ordinance from the agenda for additional review; the solicitor confirmed that item will be presented again after further review.

Three resolutions listed for action were announced in the agenda: installing handicap parking zones on multiple blocks in the city; amending a prior resolution to designate Santander Bank as the depository for a U.S. Economic Development Administration recompete grant; and entering into a memorandum of understanding with Delaware County to use grant funds for installation of lighting in or adjacent to 4 Seasons Park. The transcript records the resolutions’ presentation but does not record final votes on them.

No roll-call votes or formal outcomes are recorded in the available transcript excerpt. Staff told council members they would attach the omitted documentation to the final order and correct the salary ordinance labels before finalization.