Media Borough
Despite increased costs, taxes will not climb in 2026.
In a positive development for Media residents, the borough’s council approved a balanced budget on Dec. 18 that keeps property taxes flat. However, local officials cautioned that such good fortune could be short-lived.
“All of this is really good news,” Borough Manager Brittany Forman said after explaining that the property tax rate for borough residents will remain at 2.00 mills and borough parking rates will stay at $1.50 per hour. “The caveat being that…we might have to consider future increases to keep up with rising costs and declining revenues,” she added.
Forman said the biggest point of concern is that Media officials anticipate another decrease in earned income tax revenue next year due to Upper Darby implementing its own EIT starting Jan. 1, 2026. That’s “something we need to continue to monitor,” along with other nearby municipalities’ EIT decisions, she said.
Media levies a 1% tax on earned income, which includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, fees and tips. EITs apply to all income-earning residents of a given area and non-residents who work in that area. But if a person lives and works in two different municipalities that both have EITs, they pay the tax only to their residential municipality.
In an Oct. 16 press release announcing its new EIT, Upper Darby Township pointed out that “many, if not most, Upper Darby Township residents already pay the tax in their workplace jurisdiction.” Creating its own EIT helps the township keep tax revenue from residents “in their home community,” Upper Darby stated.
In Media, the borough’s EIT represents about 47% of its 2026 anticipated general fund revenue. Comparatively, just 16% of general fund revenues come from local property taxes.
Out of the 49 municipalities in Delaware County, 26 have an EIT. Others may join those ranks in the future; the Swarthmore Borough Council in October narrowly avoided enacting an EIT after Swarthmore College agreed to give the borough $638,000 to cover a budget shortfall.
During Media’s Dec. 18 borough council meeting, Forman put the situation plainly. “As interest rates continue to decline and other municipalities implement their own EIT, we will have to find ways to cover those revenue gaps in the future,” she said. “So, we are good for this budget, but we do have to keep this in mind.”
Council President Mark Paikoff, though, offered a more celebratory take.
“I’d just like to say thank you,” he said after Forman’s presentation. “Three years in a row we haven’t had to raise any millage, and I think that’s quite a feat considering what’s happening in other areas of Delaware County.”
Delaware County Council earlier this month adopted a 2026 budget that will impose a 19% property tax increase on county residents, including those who reside in Media. That’s an increase of $188 annually for the average home valued at $255,000.
