The Montgomery County Commissioners adopted a $610.9 million budget for fiscal year 2025 and raised property tax rates from 5.178 mills to 5.642 mills to remedy a $15.8 million deficit, Mainline Media News reported.

The nine percent real estate tax increase will generate roughly $28.8 million in “new net real estate tax revenue to the general fund,” Dean Dortone, the county’s Chief Financial Officer, said.

From the article:

He estimated around 40 percent of single-family homes with property values between $200,000 and $414,000 would pay $601 per year in county real estate taxes, which is an annual increase of $49. An “average single-family home” valued at around $520,100 would pay $79 more per year at $965, Dortone said.

Programs offering eligible residents on a fixed or low income assistance include the county’s Real Estate Tax Deferral Program and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program. Additionally, the Active Volunteer Real Estate Tax Rebate Ordinance offers some relief to qualified first responders. More information on the county program can be found at montgomerycountypa.gov/finance.

Increased expenditures were listed around $43.1 million (7.6 percent) higher than the 2024 budget. Dortone cited personnel, debt service costs and a $2 million “projected inter-fund transfer” to the county’s 911 fund as main factors, Mainline Media said.

The county’s main revenue drivers included real estate taxes at 54.1 percent, federal and state grants at 34.6 percent and departmental earnings at 11.3 percent, according to budget figures.

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