Montco Passes First Bipartisan Budget In Nearly A Decade

NORRISTOWN, PA —Montgomery County has passed its 2026 budget with bipartisan agreement for the first time in nearly a decade.

The three commissioners, two Democrats and Republican, all voted to approve both next year's budget and the county's Five Year Capital Improvement Plan, a long range proposal for the county's finances and general direction through 2030.

County commissioners have made a concerted effort to turn the page on the partisan vitriol that unfortunately came to define past administrations. Democrats Ken Lawrence and Val Arkoosh rarely agreed with Republican Joe Gale, and their disputes were frequent, public, and often acrimonious.

Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija said that with federal and state politics as tangled and partisan as ever, local cooperation is vital.

“This is the first bipartisan budget passed in Montgomery County in nearly a decade, and it reflects what’s possible when we put people first,” Makhija said in a statement. "While federal and state governments struggle with gridlock, local governments are closer to the ground."

Makhija, fellow Democrat Jamila Winder, and Republican Thomas DiBello set a different tone from the beginning, with most communications from the office involving all three commissioners, even if they disagree on some of the finer points.

Democrats, of course, maintain and majority and probably will into the foreseeable future, given how heavily blue Montgomery County is. They have significant control over policy direction. It's not DiBello's ideal situation, but in the case of the 2026 budget, it seems to represent a place all three can agree to work from.

"I’m not happy with where we are at today, but it is a work in progress,” DiBello said. “As commissioner, my focus is on ensuring Montgomery County is stable and fiscally responsible. We are a $1.2 billion operation here and we worked very hard to reduce the deficit by $30 million this year. We’re in a position where we’ve done as much as we can do for 2026. Now we’re focused on getting even better for 2027.”

The budget includes 5.462 percent real estate tax rate that the county says will add about $12 million to their general fund. It will cost taxpayers about $36 per household. Real estate taxes cover nearly 54 percent of the county's entire budget, with much of the rest of the balance coming from federal and state grants.

Some other key highlights of the budget include $5.3 million for supportive housing, including three new transitional housing facilities in Lansdale, Norristown, and Pottstown, and $2 million to support revitalization of the county's main streets.

There's also $35 million earmarked for maintenance and upgrades of 131 bridges and 75 miles of roads, and $16.6 million dedicated to improve and maintain the county's parks, trails, and historic sites.

The county's public healthy and safety funds will dedicate $7.2 million to new emergency communication radios for police, fire, and EMS departments.

The full budget can be viewed by the public at montgomerycountypa.gov/finance.