Lower Merion Township posted its full 2027 budget calendar on Thursday, Sept. 24. The schedule sets two public hearings and a Dec. 16 adoption vote on a spending plan that could bring a third straight property-tax increase.

The township's schedule gives residents five key dates through mid-December:

  • Nov. 6: Distribution of the proposed 2027 budget and 2027–2032 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
  • Nov. 11: Budget presentation to the Board of Commissioners
  • Nov. 18: First public hearing on the proposed budget and CIP
  • Dec. 2: Second public hearing
  • Dec. 16: Adoption vote on the 2027 budget and CIP

Start times for the five meetings have not been posted. The township said agendas will appear on its online calendar by 5 p.m. the Friday before each meeting.

The calendar formalizes a process that began at a Wednesday, Sept. 9 budget workshop, where Township Manager Ernie McNeely warned commissioners the township faces financial "headwinds." As Mainline Media News reported on Sept. 14, McNeely told the workshop, "We can see that there are headwinds to this budget … We have certain things that I'll mention that may be a pressure for a tax rate increase for next year."

Lower Merion raised its real estate tax rate 6.5 percent for 2025 and 8 percent for 2026, according to Patch. Those hikes ended more than a decade in which the rate held flat at 4.19 mills, Mainline Media News reported.

McNeely cited $1.2 million in unbudgeted storm costs this year, including damage from a July 11 microburst. Two union contracts expire at the end of 2026, leaving salary costs for next year unknown. Health insurance premiums jumped 19.9 percent for 2026, and another double-digit increase is possible.

The 2026 General Fund deficit has narrowed from a projected $5 million to about $2.5 million. That would leave a year-end fund balance of roughly $21.2 million, or 24.9 percent. McNeely cautioned that much of the improvement came from a spike in business-tax revenue that may not continue.

No specific tax-rate increase has been proposed. The proposed budget is expected Nov. 6, and residents can attend the Nov. 18 and Dec. 2 public hearings at the Township Administration Building, 75 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore.