Harvie’s hike

Everyone agrees Washington has a spending problem. But most Bucks County residents have no idea they are funding a half-billion-dollar government machine, and that is exactly how Commissioner Chair (and congressional candidate) Bob Harvie likes it.

In a 2-1 vote last week, Harvie and his Democratic majority finalized a budget that doesn’t just manage our county — it treats your home equity like a political ATM to fund a flurry of press releases during his 2026 run for Congress. By hiking property taxes another 2.2 mills Harvie has officially turned the county courthouse into a campaign laboratory for the same high-tax, high-spend policies he hopes to export to Washington.

To understand the scope of this budget, let’s look at where Bob Harvie started. When Democrats took control of the Board of Commissioners in 2020, they inherited a stable fiscal environment. Since then, the millage rate has climbed 21 percent.

In 2021, the county’s total operating expenditures were $469 million. By 2026, that number has ballooned to $517 million. That is a $48 million increase in the cost of running the county government in just five years.

So, where did the money go? The 2026 budget highlights a massive expansion of the permanent bureaucracy, particularly in “Human Services” and “Finance & Administration.” Since 2021: 

Finance & Administration jumped from $34.6 million in 2021 to $46.1 million in 2026 — a 33 percent increase in the cost of the central bureaucracy alone.

Human Services increased from $95.8 million to $111.5 million — a sixteen-percent jump even as residents struggle to access these services.

Elected Officials spending exploded from $35.3 million to $43.4 million — a 23% increase in the cost of running the very courthouse offices that Democrats just swept in November.

While Harvie claims these increases are a “statement of values,” the numbers tell a different story: an administration that used a half-decade of federal subsidies to build a government that Bucks County taxpayers simply cannot afford.

In 2021, the county was coasting on a “sugar high” of federal Covid relief and a beginning fund balance that had jumped to $50.3 million. Harvie used that temporary cash not to provide permanent tax relief or put aside funds strategically, but to fund a “sunset trap.” They built permanent, recurring programs — like the expanded “Human Services Hub” — using temporary federal checks from the Biden-era American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Now, the trap is closing. In 2026, ARP funding has plummeted by over $10 million — accounting for the majority of the $16.4 million deficit. Instead of cutting the bloat they built during the “free money” years, Harvie’s new budget forces you to fill the gap. It is a strategy ripped directly from the national Democratic playbook: Build a dependency on temporary cash, wait for it to disappear, and then hold the taxpayer hostage to fund the permanent bureaucracy left behind. Sound familiar? It’s exactly what is playing out in Congress over Obamacare subsidies.

The 2021 budget was passed in an environment where Republican watchdogs still held key row offices, providing a check on administrative overreach. Fast forward to today, and the danger of unified control looms even greater. 

Following the November “blue wave,” Democrats now hold the keys to every single row office. The watchdogs are gone and, come January 5, the courthouse will become a partisan echo chamber. This 2026 budget — a double digit growth in the size of local government in just five years — is the first fruit of that one-party state. 

For taxpayers, this is just the canary in the coal mine. Thanks to Democratic sweeps across municipalities and school boards this past November, residents should keep a sharp eye on their local tax bills. Now that the same political machinery controls our towns and our schools, we should expect the same shenanigans to appear in our local budgets toward the end of next year.

If candidate Harvie is willing to hit you with a cumulative 21-percent tax hike while he is still auditioning for your vote, imagine the “fiscal discipline” he would bring to Washington if given the chance. Bob Harvie has spent six years proving that his only solution to a problem is a deeper reach into your pocket. 

Publius Pax is a tenth-generation Bucks Countian, political consultant, and author.