Chester presents balanced, "bare-bones" 2026 budget; $43 million pension liability remains
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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 discontinuation for 2026 of a Pennsylvania "Tran" loan that previously had provided between $2 million and $5 million annually; contested business-privilege tax receipts currently in legal dispute; and broader economic conditions. On the business-privilege tax he said the city will not project contested receipts until legal outcomes are certain.
Pensions and benefits form a large share of costs. Trautman said benefits make up more than 45% of expenditures (about $28 million). He described the pension situation as complex under Act 205 of the Pennsylvania code and said additional distress-related payments will add roughly $3 million to required contributions. "Every pensioner is getting their pensions," Trautman said, noting PNC administers pension distributions and that the $43,000,000 figure is an outstanding liability the city owes the pension funds, not a stopping of monthly payments to retirees.
On staffing, Trautman said there are no major structural changes but the budget includes allocations for eight police cadets and four fire cadets to begin filling persistent vacancies.
Specialty funds and capital needs were highlighted: liquid-fuels revenues are expected to be lower but other sources should hold the fund steady; the capital fund is slated to receive $1,000,000 to address deferred structural needs; and a PFM study recommended replacing 52 major vehicles and equipment between 2025 and 2026, a replacement program Trautman said the city is beginning to address.
Trautman described the solid-waste contract implemented Jan. 1 as successful, saying it halted prior cost growth and removed the need for general-fund subsidies to cover solid-waste bills; the fund is projected to have more than $250,000 in cash at the end of next year.
On federal funds, the city reported it has received $30,300,000 in ARPA awards across approximately two dozen projects. Trautman said eight to ten projects remain open, with the largest remaining item the Public Works building; he estimated $5,700,000 of the roughly $8,000,000 ARPA balance will be spent on that project as the city works to close projects before federal deadlines.
Councilors asked for additional line-item detail, and staff said they would provide requested breakdowns (for example, departmental detail underlying the 52-vehicle recommendation and historical receipts for handicap-parking permits). The mayor closed the hearing after a brief public-comment period and said the council is scheduled to consider formal approval at its upcoming deliberative session.
The presentation included no final council vote on the budget at the Dec. 8 public presentation; council indicated a formal approval was expected at the next scheduled meeting.
