Southeastern PA counties are preparing for tight budgets, tax increases
Philadelphia’s suburban counties are bracing for tight 2026 budgets as stagnant state funding, reduced federal support and a recently resolved Harrisburg budget impasse leave local governments preparing for higher property taxes. County officials in Chester, Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties say they face growing human-service needs with fewer outside dollars, forcing them to consider tax hikes — including a proposed 4% increase in Montgomery County and a potential 19% hike in Delaware County to close a structural deficit. Leaders warn that flat or reduced state funding for mental health, transit and 911 services shifts costs to counties, which can raise revenue only through property taxes. Several counties also spent tens of millions of dollars from reserves to backfill state funding delays and now await reimbursement, prompting Delaware County to declare a state of emergency to keep food assistance flowing. Read more at the Inquirer (gift link).
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 11/14/2025

Landowners try to ride multibillion-dollar data center wave
Fueled by skyrocketing demand for AI computing power, landowners across the country are increasingly marketing properties — even unlikely ones — as potential data center sites, with listings on Craigslist touting “power-ready” campuses and industrial parcels rebranded for tech use. Experts say the rush has been driven by soaring land prices in established data center hubs like Northern Virginia, where sales have topped $6 million per acre, prompting sellers elsewhere to pitch sites without confirming whether they truly meet requirements for power access, cooling capacity or fiber connectivity. Southeast Pennsylvania’s proximity to fiber routes, aging industrial sites and major population centers could attract interest from data center developers. That could mean new tax revenue, redevelopment of underused properties and tech-sector job growth. But it also raises concerns about substantial energy demands, land-use conflicts, noise and water-cooling impacts, especially in suburban areas already navigating growth pressures. Local governments may face heightened competition to secure power capacity and may need new zoning policies to manage proposals that are more speculative than realistic.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 11/13/2025 

FEMA council misses deadline for agency overhaul report
President Donald Trump’s FEMA Review Council missed its Nov. 17 deadline to release recommendations for overhauling the agency, and the Department of Homeland Security has not said when the report will be published. The 12-member council, created by a January executive order and co-chaired by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, may release the report by mid-December, according to a congressional staffer. The panel is expected to assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) recent disaster responses, compare federal and state roles, and evaluate reform proposals as Trump pushes for states to take on more responsibility. Any major changes would require congressional approval, and a bipartisan House committee has already advanced a bill to make FEMA a cabinet-level agency. Read more from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
Source: Pennsylvania Capital-Star; 11/17/2025

940K PA residents qualify for new tax credit
Pennsylvania leaders have announced a new tax credit that will provide about $193 million in tax relief to residents across the state, as they continue to battle rising costs and ongoing income inequality. The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, part of the 2025-2026 budget that was recently approved, will impact an estimated 940,000 low- to moderate-income residents. Any resident who qualifies for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will now also qualify for the new state plan, with the potential to get back as much as 10% of the federal credit. The exact amount that residents can expect depends on a variety of factors, including income, the number of people in the household and the number of children. For a single working parent with three children who earns $23,300 or less, they can earn the maximum state credit of $805. Meanwhile, a married couple with two children that earns $30,470 can earn $715. Even couples with three children that earn up to $60,000 can get back $183. Learn more about qualifying for the EITC, which qualifies residents to the Pennsylvania credit, at the IRS website.
Source: Patch; 11/18/2025 

Median age of Bucks homebuyers is approaching 40
A nationwide survey compiled by the National Association of Realtors found that the median first-time homebuyer is 40 years old. Although the broader Philadelphia metro area, which includes Bucks County, has a slightly younger median homebuyer age of 38, In Bucks County, census data show that people buying homes are getting older, mirroring the national trend. Only about 29% of recent buyers (2021 to 2023) were under 35, down from 34% in 2000, while the share of homeowners 65 and older has steadily grown, nearly doubling since 2000. These shifts highlight how affordability pressures are limiting young adults’ ability to enter Bucks County’s housing market. For comparison, NAR data show the median first-time homebuyer was in their late 20s in the 1980s.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 11/18/2025

Approval for Hulmeville Hill housing plan overturned
A Bucks County judge has overturned Hulmeville Borough Council’s 2023 approval of Superior Holdings’ plan to build homes and apartments on the 45-acre “Hulmeville Hill” property. Common Pleas Judge Jordan Yeager ruled that the council committed legal errors by granting conditional use without sufficient evidence that the project met zoning requirements. Judge Yeager cited missing architectural plans, inadequate street and pedestrian access, lack of required alleys, and insufficient open space. While the citizens group Hulmeville Conservation failed to prove the development posed a substantial public safety threat, the judge also noted that the developer’s promises to comply later were legally insufficient. The ruling sends the plan back to square one, leaving the future of the development — and the well-known sledding hill — uncertain.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 11/18/2025

Langhorne Borough to consider rental registration ordinance
The Nov. 12 Langhorne Borough Council meeting agenda included a motion to advertise a “Proposed Rental Registration Ordinance.” The borough’s current regulations do not require registration of rental properties, only a change of tenant form. Council next meets on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, 114 E. Maple Ave.
Source: Langhorne Borough; 11/2025

Grand View Hospital in Sellersville to temporarily close maternity ward
Grand View Hospital in Sellersville will temporarily close its maternity ward on Dec. 1 following the resignation of several OB/GYNs. All labor and delivery patients will be redirected to St. Luke’s Upper Bucks campus in Milford Township. Grand View will continue to offer outpatient obstetric and women’s health services. The shutdown highlights broader statewide shortages of maternity services and specialists. According to Pennsylvania Health Access Network, a healthcare advocacy group, almost a third of counties in Pennsylvania have no hospitals offering maternity care, and almost half of counties have just one such hospital. Bucks County remains one of the few counties in the state that still has multiple maternity wards — at St. Luke’s Upper Bucks, Doylestown Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center — even as hospitals across the state face staffing strains and closures amid a stagnant OB/GYN workforce.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 11/19/2025

No tax increase proposed in Upper Makefield
Upper Makefield Township’s proposed 2026 budget would keep the municipal property tax rate unchanged at 6.45 mills and maintain the earned income tax at 0.5%. Supervisors granted preliminary approval so the plan can be advertised and reviewed ahead of a final vote on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The $14.18 million budget, including a $9.17 million general fund, maintains current services without major operational changes and marks the township’s final debt payment, making it debt-free in 2026. Planned investments include funding for a new fire engine in 2028, two police cruisers, multiple road-paving projects, stormwater initiatives and a grant-supported streetscape improvement along Route 532.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 11/15/2025 

Data center might come to East Coventry
East Coventry Township entered the region’s widening debate over data centers as Constellation Energy asked officials to amend zoning rules to allow the facilities, prompting skepticism from planners and residents during a Nov. 13 meeting. The request follows months of local study and comes as Constellation has quietly purchased five parcels along Route 724 and Sanatoga Road, raising questions about its intentions and the broader impacts of water-cooled, power-intensive data centers. Stacey R. MacNeal, an attorney representing Constellation, indicated the company feels there are many benefits to allowing a data center to be built, primarily economic and tax revenue benefits. MacNeal insisted Constellation is acting “as a property owner, not a developer.” Planning Commission Chairman Lawrence Tietjen challenged the company’s assertion that it is merely a property owner and said the use is too industrial for the area, while state Sen. Katie Muth (D-144) and several residents warned of risks including noise, water consumption, fire safety demands, inadequate state protections and the potential for abandoned facilities if the industry cools. No speakers supported the proposal, and township officials said Constellation will be asked to address the concerns as discussions continue.
Source: Mercury; 11/17/2025 

Greystone Hall in West Goshen sells for $6.5M, luxury resort planned
A New York hospitality company has acquired the remaining 44 acres of Greystone Hall in West Goshen Township for $6.5 million, moving forward with its plans to redevelop it into a luxury boutique resort and spa. Located at 2450 Aram Ave., the site includes Greystone Hall's three-story mansion, a garage and a carriage house. The parcel is the remainder of the original 441-acre Greystone property. The final sale price breaks down to $148,377 per acre and is roughly 27% below the initial $9 million asking price from 2022. The majority of the original Greystone land is now home to a $450 million, 588-home residential community built by NVHomes.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 11/13/2025

Vast majority of provisional ballots cast on Nov. 4 will count
The Chester County Board of Elections rejected Republican challenges to provisional ballots as the board prepares to launch an investigation into a poll book error that forced thousands of independent and third-party voters to cast provisional ballots during the Nov. 4 election. The election resulted in more than 12,000 provisional ballots being cast primarily by independent and third-party voters blocked from voting on machines — an unusually high amount. The issue was caused when officials mistakenly sent poll books to precincts that did not include the names of independent and third-party voters, many of whom were forced to cast provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are often more likely to be rejected than mail ballots because voters are less familiar with the voting method and are required to place ballots in a secrecy envelope and sign in two places. The election board, which is made up of the county’s commissioners, voted to count the vast majority of the provisional ballots, arguing that the county’s mistake allowed the board to accept ballots that would be rejected under normal circumstances. “People’s ballots deserve to be counted in this circumstance,” said Josh Maxwell, a Democrat who chairs the board. “If we make a mistake, we have to remedy it.”
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 11/17/2025

Uwchlan’s 2026 budget proposal includes tax increase
Uwchlan Township officials unveiled a 2026 draft budget that proposes the community’s first real estate tax increase in nearly two decades, citing an $854,000 projected deficit driven largely by a steep drop in earned-income tax revenue from one of the township’s biggest employers. The plan raises general, hydrant and utility rates, adds a new fire tax, and increases trash and sewer fees to cover rising costs and long-deferred infrastructure needs, while keeping Uwchlan’s overall millage among the lowest in Chester County. The township has a dedicated page for information on the proposed budget. Supervisors will review and discuss the budget at their next meeting on Monday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. at the township building, 715 N. Ship Road, Exton.
Source: Uwchlan Township; 11/18/2025

Oxford Mainstreet conducts public survey
Oxford Mainstreet, an organization that seeks to promote economic growth in the borough, is developing a strategic plan to guide its work for the next several years. It is seeking public input via an online survey.
Source: Oxford Mainstreet Inc.; 11/18/2025