Central Bucks taxes could go up-again – Bucks Round-Up – April 2, 2026

Central Bucks taxes could go up-again 

Central Bucks School District may face a $22 million deficit in the 2026-2027 school year even if taxes are raised by 5.7 percent. The news came at last week’s school board meeting. With a projected budget of $463 million, the deficit comes to about five percent of the district’s total spending. If district officials decide to hike taxes by the full 5.7 percent, it will be the third year in a row of tax increases over five percent, costing owners of an average property an additional $325. The next school year will be the sixth consecutive year that the district has raised taxes. For six school years before 2015-16 through 2020-21, taxes remained flat. Members of the current school board have said the district needs additional money to catch up on repairs and maintenance that went unaddressed during years that spending remained flat. The district’s Finance and Operations Committee will discuss the proposed budget for the year 2026-2027 at its next meeting on April 9, 2026. The full school board will vote on a budget in the next couple of months. At last week’s board meeting, the budget and the possible tax hike dominated the meeting. Expenses for the 2026-27 year are about $31 million above the current budget; key drivers include moving to full-day kindergarten and school realignment (moving sixth graders to middle school and ninth graders to high school). Other significant budget items are personnel costs, transportation, and insurance. And the contract for the district’s support staff is up for renewal in June. The administration has applied for $10 million in grants to pay for construction and capital projects and if they are approved, it would affect next year’s deficit. The district is not planning to make any new bus purchases now, which should save over $2 million. And it halted plans to renovate or replace eight of the district’s fifteen elementary schools, since officials thought uncertainty in the financial markets would make borrowing money more expensive. The district will be able to go with a 5.7 percent increase despite a cap on tax increases for school districts: Pennsylvania law limits tax increases for the 2026-27 year to 3.5 percent under the Act One Index; but the law also grants some school districts an exemption for special education. Since Central Bucks has a large budget for special education, the state is allowing the district to raise taxes by 5.7 percent. Central Bucks used a similar exemption last year to raise taxes above the maximum established by the Act One Index for the current school year. 

Doylestown’s new e-bike ordinance rules

The Doylestown Township supervisors will regulate where owners of the popular e-bikes may ride on the community’s walkways, roads, and trails — and how fast they can go. E-bikes and e-scooters are allowed on rails, roads, walkways. They are however not permitted on trails less than eight feet wide or where signage restricts them. The new ordinance does not allow cycles on sidewalks except for riders under sixteen who are accompanied by an adult. The e-bike is described by PennDOT as a “pedalcycle” with an electric assist, a weight of no more than 100 pounds, and a motor that doesn’t exceed 750 watts. Riders must be at least sixteen years old. State law also sets a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour, allows the vehicles in designated bike lanes, and permits them on sidewalks that are not in a business district. The state does not require riders to wear a helmet. Doylestown’s ordinance also lists a number of safety requirements, speeds, no passengers on scooters, and only one on an e-bike. Township police will enforce the new ordinance that sets the fine for a first violation at $100, the fine for a second at $250, and a cap of $500 in fines.

Historic Durham Evangelical Lutheran Church to add new annex

The Durham Evangelical Lutheran Church is ready to begin a $1.2 million, two-story annex for its church office and daycare center groundbreaking is scheduled for April 12.  The attachment to the 1857-year-old church has caused a division within the congregation. Opponents say it will desecrate the old graves adjacent to the church building and ruin the church’s historical value. Advocates say the plan is necessary for continued growth. The proposed annex is 3,532 square feet, with two floors. The first floor will be office space and a restroom to accommodate churchgoers, while the second floor is planned for Care-A-Lot preschool that has been located in the church basement for more than 40 years. But the dissension over the annex has more to do with a 2012 bequest from a retired art professor who attended church as a child, Dorothea Ilge Shaffer, who died at the age of 100 that year. She, bequeathed $700,000 to the church with the provision that it be used for a “building with educational purpose.” Her husband died in 1997, and both are buried in the cemetery. The money was untouched by a previous pastor and has gained interest to cover the contract for the new building. Last Sunday, the congregation voted to proceed with the building plans. More opposition to the project surfaced since the construction appeared imminent. Other opponents said they see no need for another building because membership is dwindling. The interim pastor, Reverend Jim Heckman, endorsed the annex project to provide more services.   

Pat Wandling is a veteran journalist, formerly of the Bucks County Courier, and was a mainstay on WBCB for over 20 years.