By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

After a series of five public meetings that carefully sifted through projected spending and income figures and financial forecasts for next year, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors officially adopted the township’s 2025 budget at its Dec. 4 meeting. 

The township’s operating budget will begin the new year with $12.4 million across all funds, including $5.5 million in its general fund. On the operating expense side, the township’s budget will be $8,356,569, which is an eight percent increase ($633,649) from 2024. Of those top cost centers, 32 percent will be directed to the township’s Police Department, which stands at the top with an expense budget of $2,703,706 for next year, a 14 percent increase ($338,667) over 2024. The primary drivers for its increase will reflect a 7.3 percent increase in its pension municipal obligation and a 7 percent overall increase in salary and benefits that include overtime, medical and dental insurance and tuition reimbursement. 

The township’s contribution to the Kennett Area Fire & EMS Commission will reflect 22 percent of the township’s anticipated costs for 2025 and see a 17 percent increase in operating expenses next year ($260,216) to cover its capital contribution to the Commission. Currently, the township is responsible for 30.5 percent of the Commission’s entire budget. In 2025, the Commission is projecting a $500,000 increase to pay for new vehicles and equipment and another $407,000 that is projected to be designated for salary increases, the hiring of an additional truck driver and repairs at the Kennett Fire Department’s facility. 

On the revenue growth side, the township forecasts a general fund revenue of $8.6 million, a nine percent decrease from the 2024 budget, with earned income tax and real estate taxes expected to make up 83 percent of the township’s recurring revenue in 2025. Broken down, the current 3.5 mill tax provides $2.8 million in real estate tax income to the township, at an assessed average of $761 per township household per year. 

A $22 a year tax increase

At its Nov. 6 public meeting, the board approved a real estate tax increase of one-tenth of a mill – a 2.86 percent jump, under the rate of inflation – which will cost township homeowners an additional $22 per year and generate an additional $82,500 for the township. The tax increase was enacted to compensate for the higher cost of providing fire and EMS services in the township, as reflected in the Kennett Area Fire & EMS Commission’s across-the-board expense hikes for 2025.

“Many of our expenses are actually increasing greater than our revenue is growing,” said township Manager Alison Dobbins. “We have been making a team effort to make sure that what is going into the budget is really necessary and continues to drive the high-quality services that this community expects. The responsible thing to do is to make sure that we are keeping ahead, particularly as we look at capital investments. 

“Everything is increasing in the areas of emergency services and public safety, but we are also seeing increases in insurance, pension obligations. The consensus from the board was that a 2,86-percent increase that is less than the rate of inflation was the responsible thing to do to insure that we can continue to be able to meet our capital needs and obligations.”

In other township business, the board also approved the pursuit of three statewide local share assessment grants from the Commonwealth Financing Authority that if granted, would be applied to the new food and distribution and emergency assistance resource center currently being planned for Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) in Kennett Square. One grant, in the amount of $525,000, is projected for the construction of a solar panel and equipment added after the facility’s completion; a second grant will be applied for the cost of a build-out dedicated tenant space at the center in the amount of $680,000; and a third, in the amount of $350,000, will be used for a new walk-in freezer and affiliated equipment that will be installed after the center is built.

The board also approved the appointment of Tina Bennett to the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway Commission.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].