The Eastern Delaware County Joint Recreation District approved two budget measures on a unanimous vote at its December meeting: a short amendment to the FY2025 budget to cover higher-than-expected legal fees, and a resolution adopting the proposed $100,000 budget for fiscal year 2026.

An unidentified speaker who presented the financial updates said the FY2025 revision moves small amounts from existing line items to cover additional legal expenses: “I moved $463 from insurance and another $500 from the consultant line item to increase the legal fees from $10,000 to $10,009.63,” the speaker said. The board approved that amendment after a motion by Mister Elliott and a second by Mister Coy; the chair announced a 6–0 vote in favor.

On the FY2026 budget, the presenter described a total appropriation of $100,000 that assumes contributions from the member jurisdictions. The proposed allocations included $3,000 for insurance, $15,000 for legal fees and $80,000 for consulting services to complete the needs assessment, start preliminary design work and prepare estimates should the project be put on a ballot. The presenter said the $80,000 would complete the existing needs assessment work and begin design if the jurisdictions decide to advance to that stage.

Board members asked whether the full $100,000 could be appropriated if the three member jurisdictions had not yet made firm commitments. The presenter replied that amounts must be appropriated from district revenues and that the budget could be amended later if a jurisdiction declines to participate. After discussion and minor wording edits to the resolution language, Mister Elliott moved to approve the FY2026 budget and Mister Musacchio seconded; the measure passed 6–0.

Votes at a glance
• Resolution 2025-13 (FY2025 budget amendment): Motion approved 6–0. Motion recorded as moved by Mister Elliott, seconded by Mister Coy. Key change: move $463 from insurance and $500 from consulting to cover legal fees raised to $10,009.63.
• Resolution 2025-14 (Adopt FY2026 budget): Motion approved 6–0. Motion recorded as moved by Mister Elliott, seconded by Mister Musacchio. Total appropriation: $100,000; highlights include $80,000 consulting, $15,000 legal fees, $3,000 insurance.

Next steps
The board will proceed with spending consistent with the resolutions and said jurisdictions can seek adjustments later if their contributions differ from the assumptions in the adopted budget. The presenter noted staff will continue to coordinate with jurisdictional partners on cash transfers early in 2026 for audit clarity.