Doylestown Borough Holds Line On Taxes, Approves Preliminary Budget

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Doylestown Borough Council this week voted unanimously to approve a preliminary budget for 2025 that will hold the line on taxes while setting money aside for a solar energy system at borough hall, new tree plantings, and nine road paving projects.

Under the proposed $14.8 million spending plan, the average homeowner will continue to pay $644.48 in borough real estate taxes.

The Doylestown Borough Real Estate Tax continues to be the smallest portion of a homeowner’s overall real estate tax bill, accounting for 11.41 percent of the total bill. The county tax bill is 14.67 percent while the Central Bucks School District bill makes up 73.9 percent of the bill.

The plan budgets $14.8 million in expenditures, which will be paid for with $13.46 million in tax and grant revenues and a $1.39 million allocation from the fund balance.

The budget’s largest expenditure fund continues to be for law enforcement. The $7.5 million police budget, approved by council on Monday, includes a 2.86 percent increase.

While real estate taxes are budgeted to remain the same, water rates are forecast to rise by six percent next year as the borough continues to take steps to address the nationwide PFOS/PFAS contamination crisis and EPA’s stringent lead regulations.

The increase will boost quarterly rates by $9.56 from $71.85 to $81.41. Despite the increase, borough water rates are expected to remain well below the regional average.

According to borough officials, the cost of PFOS/PFAS systems alone could reach $10 million over the next five years, with lead remediation costs likely to reach at least $3 million.

Under capital projects, the budget allocates $380,000 for the installation of a solar energy system
on the roof of the borough hall. The borough said it anticipates recouping $156,000 of the cost in the first 12 months through energy savings and incentives with full payback in less than a decade.

The capital projects fund also budgets $137,200 in matching funds for traffic signal improvements in the Swamp Road corridor and the upgrade of the traffic signal at West State, Clinton, and West Court streets. The bulk of the projects will be funded through a Green Light Go program grant.

The capital projects budget also sets aside $20,000 for additional tree plantings and money to replace two leaf vacuums, a backhoe, and a 10-ton dump truck. Under the road improvement fund, the borough has allocated money to pave up to nine streets in 2025. The streets include:

• East Court Street (Route 313 to East Street)
• Wood Street (Franklin to Decatur)
• Avenue A (West to Clinton)
• Decatur (Franklin to Hamilton)
• Davis Road (North to East)
• Logan (Lafayette to West)
• Lantern (Broad to Woodbridge)
• Frosterly Drive (alternate)
• Bunker Street (Ashland to Mary) (alternate)

The Borough Council is scheduled to adopt a final budget at its December 16 meeting.