Doylestown Township leaders should represent all residents

Doylestown Township’s finances are a mess, and the Board of Supervisors needs leaders focused on fiscal responsibility and transparency to fix it. In that regard, recent comments by Dan Wood and Christina Maida should give voters pause. 

Earlier this month, while announcing their campaign was running out of money, Wood and Maida put out a fundraising plea for money “to keep Doylestown blue!” They made it crystal clear they only care about the voices of the 5,660 registered Democrats in the township, and if elected, the 5,778 Republicans and 2,588 independent/thirdparty voters would have no voice. That’s 8,366 voters who won’t have a voice. Our supervisors are supposed to represent the interests of all residents, not a political party. 

In recently published profiles and a recent town hall, Wood takes sole credit for the accomplishments of Republican-majority boards, like the project to repair 40 miles of roads, the Kids Castle bathroom, or the 2021 credit rating increase. Those two projects were voted on by Republican-majority boards, and it was a Republican-majority board that got us that credit rating increase. At the same time, while taking sole credit for the work of Republican-led boards, Wood blames other people for every single time he has voted to raise property taxes.

Wood also takes credit for saving the township over $1 million in pension reform without providing details, and both Wood and Maida claim to focus on being transparent.

However, per the 2025 Adopted Budget, developed by Christina Maida’s Finance Committee and supported by Supervisor Dan Wood in December 2024, Doylestown is spending nearly an extra $1 million a year on unknown administration and unallocated fringes expenses. These categories include all pension spending. And for the first time in years, the 2025 Adopted Budget does not break down the spending in these two categories! The public has no idea what is driving the spending increase in these two categories, unlike in prior years. That doesn’t seem like cost savings or transparency at all.

And 2026 budget documents project the spending in these categories are going to continue to increase, again with no detail as to why. These documents show the millage allocation for administrative and fringe spending nearly doubling by 2030, while roads and Parks & Recreation spending are dramatically decreasing during that same period. There’s no fiscal responsibility or transparency here.

And speaking of transparency, the 2025 Adopted Budget removed the Rec Center expenses from the books on the basis that it was funded by debt and corporate donations, despite the fact the 2023 and 2024 budgets did not do this, and its still government spending! This dubious rationale doesn’t stand on its own. It gets worse, however, when the township’s own 2025 budget announcement states that part of the 20% property tax increase in 2025 was going to support the Rec Center. They are literally refusing to tell us where tax dollars are being spent. 

Both Wood and Maida have said they want to limit future property tax increases. Not stop them, only limit them. Budget documents for 2026 show property taxes are projected to be increased every year until 2030, which would represent a 56% increase in property taxes since 2023. Seven consecutive years of property tax increases doesn’t sound like limiting property tax increases, does it?

Local leaders must tackle these problems head on, not say one thing to the public while doing something else in practice. They must care about all residents, and not just representing their political party.

Joe Van Houten and Colleen Brophy Brennan have a record of professional success with balancing budgets, project management, and transparent management processes. Joe and Colleen have the proper experience to bring township finances back from the brink. To prioritize spending on core services. To stop driving seniors and families out of Doylestown; you can’t have affordable housing with unaffordable property taxes.

They recognize we need to fund core services, such as fire and safety and road maintenance, and then to take a good hard look at discretionary expenditures, and cut unnecessary spending instead of raising property taxes.

Joe and Colleen recognize that gargantuan property tax hikes are driving families and seniors, our present and our future, out of Doylestown. Moreover, they are committed to running transparent processes that involve the public. In stark contrast to their opponents, they want to represent all Doylestown township residents, regardless of party, and hear all voices and input while making decisions.

Ed Sheppard is the communications chair of the Doylestown Republican Committee.