How Bucks County plans to fill $16M gap in proposed $516M budget

Bucks County released its preliminary 2026 budget last week showing a $16.2 million deficit.

The draft $516 million budget reflects a 3.2% spending hike compared to 2025, according to the county’s press release. However, there’s currently no tax increase reflected in the budget.

Instead, the county will pull the money from reserves, which would drop from about $76 million to $60 million under the proposed budget, to fill the projected gap.

Big ticket items in the 2026 budget include upgrades to the public safety radio system, which will occur over multiple years, a county spokesperson said.

The draft budget cuts $487,000 from the district attorney’s office and $216,700 from the coroner, which represents a 10.6% cut to that office from the previous year.

“Bucks County residents deserve stability, fiscal security and a high level of service from their county government,” said CFO Jeannette Weaver. “Over the next few weeks, we will continue working with our many departments and row officers to present a budget that meets those demands.”

There’s a public hearing to discuss the budget planned for Thursday Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. The final budget vote is slated for Dec. 17.

County officials attributed the budget deficit to several external factors, including inflation and the recent state and federal budget impasses and cuts.

For example, the new state budget reduces funding to counties for mental health services by 2%, a spokesman said.

The county last raised taxes for the 2024 fiscal year.