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Chester presents balanced, "bare-bones" 2026 budget; $43 million pension liability remains
Summary
City of Chester officials presented a balanced 2026 general-fund budget that avoids tax and solid-waste fee increases, highlights a roughly $43,000,000 pension liability, and assigns ARPA and capital dollars to projects including a Public Works building and vehicle replacements.
The City of Chester on Dec. 8 presented a proposed 2026 budget officials described as a "bare bones" plan that balances revenues and expenditures without raising real-estate taxes or solid-waste fees.
"Weare characterizing this as a bare bones, austere, basic...There are no frills in this budget. It is balanced," said Richard Trautman, the citychief financial officer, who led the presentation and Q&A.
Trautman framed the budget around roughly $62,200,000 in total revenues, noting the top three revenue sources account for about 81% of available funds. He said a year-over-year drop of about $500,000 in available funds will be offset by matching reductions in expenditures, and that the city used the 2025 budget as the model for monthly line-item tracking and quarterly departmental reviews.
Trautman identified several revenue uncertainties that shaped conservative assumptions: the…
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