At a Nov. 24 deliberative meeting, the City of Chester heard an overview of the proposed 2026 general fund budget from the city's Chief Financial Officer. The CFO described the proposal as "balanced" but "austere," and called attention to a large unpaid Minimum Municipal Obligation (pension liability) that he said totals "roughly $43,000,000."

The CFO also told council there would be "no real estate tax increase and no solid waste fee increase" in the proposed budget. He said the city did not receive a short-term Pennsylvania loan the municipality had drawn on in recent years (an amount in past years that ranged between about $2 million and $5 million), but added cash position improvements helped staff produce a balanced plan.

The budget schedule was detailed at the meeting: the CFO said the budget will be available in the city clerk's office after the upcoming Wednesday meeting through Dec. 10, and the notice published on the agenda sets the 2026 budget public hearing for Dec. 8, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers. The CFO said the Wednesday meeting will host the first reading and a second reading would follow at the next weekly meeting to finalize the approved budget.

Council members pressed staff for clarity on Bill 10, the earned income tax ordinance, which proposes a resident rate of 3.75% and a nonresident rate of 2%. One councilmember asked whether the 1 percentage point referenced in the draft would be added on top of the base rate or taken from it. The CFO and another councilmember clarified that under the proposal 1 percentage point of the resident rate is designated to the distressed municipalities pension fund. As one councilmember put it, "1% of that is dedicated under Act 205 to go into the pension." (Act 205 was cited by a councilmember during the exchange as the statutory mechanism directing the pension portion.)

Next steps: the council will consider the ordinances at the Wednesday regular meeting (first reading), the public hearing on Dec. 8 will provide another opportunity for comment, and a second reading is expected at the following weekly meeting to finalize the 2026 budget.