Council members in Delaware County approved a hefty property tax hike on Wednesday with only one member voting against it. The tax hike will be 23% with the average homeowner’s tax bill going up by about $185 per year. Léelo en español aquí. The vote passed four to one with Richard Womack voting against the increase. Residents in the county filled the meeting to voice their concerns about tax hike ahead of the council’s vote. “If I was running my family and had to budget increase that, we would have to move or go on welfare. It’s not right. You need to reconsider this and change for the budget increase,” John Dougherty, a resident of Uooer Providence, said. The council cites inflation, flat revenue sources and the reliance on one-time funding as the reasons why it needs to raise taxes so it can fund the budget, which totals nearly $397 million dollars. For most people this tax hike would be about an additional $183 in taxes. This is significantly larger than last year’s hike which was 5%. “No tax increase should be a priority ahead did the fact of us putting food on the table. It’s coming out of kids mouths and coming out of their general quality of life,” a resident said. County officials said that this hike is necessary to fund essential projects and to modernize facilities. The Council also announced the creation of a Budget Commission beginning next year, along with a real estate tax deferral program for some residents who they say won’t be affected by the hike. The council revealed this hike last week when they presented their 2025 budget.