401 Referendum Updates
The Delanco Township attorney has clarified that his earlier advice allowing the use of taxpayer funds for 'Vote Yes' signs and brochures was mistaken.
Following the submission of grievances to three state agencies, the township attorney clarified that his previous advice—permitting the use of taxpayer funds to support only one side of the vote—may have violated election regulations. He has recommended that the committee reimburse the funds.
Statement read at town hall meeting on July 21, 2025
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It was revealed in a series of Facebook comments, made by the Mayor Carolyn Seuss and Committeeman Matt Bartlett, that they had used taxpayer dollars pay for the "Vote Yes" signs as well as the "Vote Yes" brochures. This is a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars and brings into question the ability of the committee to honestly and faithfully use taxpayer funds.
Committeeman Matt Bartlett then cited the BOE's use of funds to push for the passage of a roof referendum vote for the school. Further research proved this to be incorrect, as that would have been against the law.
The ADDITIONAL Tax Impacts the Township Does NOT Want you to Know About
We have just found a document called the "Introduced Budget" which was published on March 17th, 2025. This document holds significant findings for the Township budget, and shows several concerning FACTS that could lead to even MORE TAX INCREASES in 2026 and beyond. We invite you to look over the document yourself or read below to see the key points we believe you should be aware of.
The first thing to know is that Delanco is reaching "max capacity," and has very little land left to develop. This means our overall tax revenue CAN NOT rely on revenue increases by additional development. This also means revenue by permits is also going away, yet ANOTHER loss of tax revenue for the township.
Now for the additional EXPECTED tax increases for next year.
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Trash collection and Disposal is expecting "significant increases" in 2026.
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Delanco Centennial Celebration Costs of $25,000 OR MORE depending on donations
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Current Debt repayment has been reduced to the MINIMUM payment to try and offset this years tax increases.
All of this culminates in a lower tax revenue for future years, plus SEVERAL expense increases in the future. Why didn't the committee mention all of these anticipated expenses in their presentations? Why has this information not been made conveniently available to the public? And are YOU prepared for all of these tax increase PLUS what the purchase of 401 Creek Road would add on top?
Your Taxes Just Increased 5%
One of the big selling points of this purchase is how taxes were barely rising in 2025, and this purchase would not affect tax bills in 2025. It was revealed at the townhall on July 21st that this was because $390,000 had been acquired to cover the first few years of interest only payments on the bond.
On July 23rd, tax bills went out covering the last two payments of 2025, and the first two payments of 2026. Residents very quickly discovered an approximate 5% increase on average on their taxes. This equates to a $200-$800+ increase in yearly taxes for residents. Now the reason this increase happened is because of an error from the school budget, which was in fact, increasing significantly, as we had initially reported. The committee continued to deny this and now must reckon with a substantial increase hitting residents BEFORE this purchase is even made.
We now come back to the spare $390,000, which could have easily been used, instead, to offset this increase, as well as the SEVERAL other expected increases coming in 2026.
Finally, we want to draw attention to the last 2 payments of 2026, which will not be announced until next year. These last 2 payments could see even more increases, and the committee has already stated that this is very likely.
