As Deadline Looms, Middletown Supervisors Split On Budget, Tax Hikes

The controversial proposed Middletown Township budget, which included tax increases, did not fully pass the Board of Supervisors during an hours-long Monday meeting.

The supervisors failed to pass the $53.1 million operational budget during a marathon meeting Monday night. The spending plan includes $5.1 million for capital projects.

The proposed 2026 spending plan, which includes property and earned income tax hikes, stalled in a 2-2 tie.

Supervisors Mike Ksiazek and Dawn Quirple voted in favor of the package, while Supervisors Dana Kane and Bernadette Hannah voted against it. The supervisor’s fifth seat is currently vacant.

The supervisors scheduled a special continuation meeting for Wednesday at 7 p.m. to future discuss the proposed budget.

If a balanced budget is not ratified by the end of Dec. 31, the municipality will be restricted to funding only essential services.

“Life for the residents in this community will dramatically change” if a budget is not passed, said Ksiazek, the supervisors chairperson.

Township Manager Eden Ratliff said the township can increase taxes, make drastic cuts across all departments, or draw from the township’s $40 million investment fund, which has not been touched and interest revenue is often used to fund projects.

Ratliff said the township administration is open to making adjustments, but they need direction from the supervisors.

The proposed budget that did not move forward calls for a 6.08 mill property tax increase and a doubling of the earned income tax from 0.5 percent to 1 percent.

For the average homeowner, the changes represent an estimated annual increase of $179 in property taxes and $323 in earned income tax.

The proposed earned income tax increase would bring Middletown Township in line with surrounding communities, most of which already charge 1 percent. Currently, 40 percent of township residents who work in other municipalities already pay the full 1 percent rate, with half going to the municipality where their job is located.

Ratliff said the increases are necessary to address a $2.8 million structural deficit that grows by roughly $1 million each year.

Officials noted that Middletown has not raised taxes in a decade, a period during which they relied on reserves and investment returns to bridge the gap between rising expenses and stagnant revenue.

“Reserves are not a sustainable long-term funding source,” Ratliff said. “It’s like spending out of your savings account and never replenishing your savings account.”

The township’s policy requires maintaining a 25 percent reserve balance to protect its AAA bond rating.

The township cut $1 million from existing operating expenses and another $1 million from department proposals during budget development, Ratliff said.

Officials explored various scenarios, including real estate tax increases as high as 10 mills before settling on the current proposal.

During the heated session, Kane stated the vote against the budget proposal was a matter of “accountability for the policies and decisions that have been made over the past 10 years.”

Hannah expressed a desire to review township headcount and new positions, specifically suggesting a “deep look” at hiring recommendations.

In response, Ratliff warned that cutting five proposed public works positions would likely result in higher contracted construction costs.

Kane and Hannah were unable to provide the township administration a detailed plan to bring the proposed budget in line with their ideal spending plan.

Quirple labeled the last-minute dissent “nonsense,” noting that all four supervisors had worked on the budget’s development.

Ryan Leighton, a Democrat set to be sworn in as a supervisor in January, accused Kane, a Republican, of “playing politics” and called her a “coward.”

“That is not what this is,” Kane responded.

Kane questioning why Leighton did not direct similar criticism toward Hannah, a Democrat.

Resident Joe Fitch spoke and asked the supervisors to not cut emergency services, but he questioned the purchases of new fire trucks and a street sweeper.

“Those are the things we need to look at,” he said

@levittownnow On Monday night, the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors split on the proposed budget and tax increases. A special meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. to attempt to pass a balanced budget. By law, the township must have a budget by December 31. #MiddletownTwp #BucksCounty #LevittownPA #Langhorne#LevittownNow ♬ original sound – LevittownNow.com

Fitch also suggested the supervisors consider stagger the tax increase over two years.

Resident Eric Bruno, who has attended budget meetings for five years, commended the supervisors’ transparency in the budget process.

“You guys have done actually a pretty darn good job at this,” Bruno said, while noting he would advocate for alternative revenue sources in future budgets.

Ratliff stated that he and the administration are prepared to work through the holidays to reach a balanced budget.

“We’ll be back here in a couple of days and try to get a budget together that will be passed,” Ksiazek said.