{"id":69401,"date":"2025-12-24T11:09:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/69401\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T11:09:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:09:07","slug":"lower-merion-taxes-will-increase-8-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/69401\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower Merion taxes will increase 8% in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, Lower Merion<\/a>! \ud83d\udc4b<\/p>\n

Township commissioners recently passed the 2026 budget, which includes a tax hike. Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/a>. And with the new year just over a week away, we\u2019ve rounded up nearly a dozen ways to celebrate 2026<\/a> in and around town. <\/p>\n

This is our final Inquirer Lower Merion newsletter of 2025, but we\u2019ll be back in your inboxes on Jan. 8. Thanks for reading and happy new year! <\/p>\n

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lower Merion residents can expect to see their property taxes go up in 2026 after the township\u2019s board of commissioners approved an 8% increase in the upcoming budget. <\/p>\n

Commissioners said the increase was necessary following 13 years of stagnant tax revenue from 2011 to 2024, when there were no increases. Property taxes went up 6.5% in 2025 and commissioners acknowledged next year\u2019s increase comes with some \u201csticker shock,\u201d The Inquirer\u2019s Denali Sagner reports. <\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s not as high as an initially proposed 9.5% hike. The township taxes will come on top of a 4% tax increase recently passed by Montgomery County officials.<\/p>\n

Read more about the tax increases here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The countdown to 2026 is on and there\u2019s no shortage of ways to celebrate the end of one year and the start of another. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve rounded up 11 celebrations in and around Lower Merion, including noontime events for kids, specialty and buffet dinners, plus concerts for kids and adults.<\/p>\n

Check out the events happening here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udca1 Community News<\/p>\n

Trash and recycling dates will have altered schedules due to Christmas and New Year\u2019s Day. See how your household is impacted here<\/a>. The township also released its 2026 collection schedule, which you can see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Narberth passed its 2026 budget last week, which includes a higher earned income tax. The EIT will jump from 0.75% this year to 1% next year and is aimed at improving the borough\u2019s capital fund. The new budget also adjusts solid waste fees so that condos and apartments pay a flat $250 per living unit. Sewer fees are also set to rise from $5.25 to $6 per 1,000 gallons. See the full budget here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Narberth council has also voted to make permanent the no-parking zone pilot at the intersection of Price and Essex Avenues. Signage is expected to be installed in January and February, with painting set for spring. <\/p>\n

What does $390,000 get you? In Lower Merion, a budget that size can buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit along Haverford\u2019s \u201cgolden mile\u201d of condominiums. See how that compares to neighboring areas, including Northeast Philadelphia and South Jersey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bryn Mawr Hospital is among the quietest hospitals in the region at night, according to newly released federal data. Patients from October 2023 to September 2024 reported Bryn Mawr being \u201calways quiet\u201d overnight 61% of the time, \u201cusually quiet\u201d 29% of the time, and \u201csometimes or never quiet\u201d 10% of the time. See how Bryn Mawr compares to other regional hospitals<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Speaking of hospitals, Lankenau Medical Center made the Forbes Top Hospitals list<\/a> for 2026. <\/p>\n

Woman\u2019s World Magazine recently caught up with Bryn Mawr native Kat Dennings<\/a> to chat about her newest project, Shifting Gears, as well as her early roles and sitcom success. <\/p>\n

A Bala Cynwyd dad launched a program in 2024 after seeing demand for Cub Scout activities on non-Sabbath days. Philadelphia Jewish Exponent recently profiled Michael Kopinsky<\/a> about his inspiration and how the program quickly gained popularity among Orthodox and Sabbath-observant Jewish families. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfeb Schools Briefing<\/p>\n

Winter break is officially here, with students and staff returning Jan. 5. The school district\u2019s offices will be closed<\/a> Dec. 24-26 and Jan. 1-2 during the break. Lower Merion High School\u2019s pool will be closed those same days, as well as on Dec. 31. <\/p>\n

Lower Merion High School skating duo Justin and Suri Lue took home third place<\/a> in the regional level of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nevada last month, and sixth place nationally in the intermediate division. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f On our Plate<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfb3 Things to Do<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa4 Start Making Sense<\/a>: Hear the seven-piece Talking Heads tribute band perform. \u23f0 Friday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m. \ud83d\udcb5 $33.38 \ud83d\udccd Ardmore Music Hall<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc11 Meet the Menagerie<\/a>: Meet some of Harriton House\u2019s farmstead animals. There will also be hot chocolate and s\u2019mores available for purchase. \u23f0 Tuesday, Dec. 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. \ud83d\udcb5 Free \ud83d\udccd Harriton House<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe1 On the Market<\/p>\n

A castle-like Merion Station home<\/a><\/p>\n

This Merion Station property, built in 1888, is reminiscent of a castle. The home has a modern interior while paying homage to its roots by way of exposed stone walls, fireplaces, millwork, and stained glass windows. Some of its features include a curved tower, a formal dining room, and an eat-in kitchen with a large island. It also has seven bedrooms spread across the second and third floors. Outside, there\u2019s an in-ground saltwater pool, a basketball court, multiple covered sitting areas, and a deck with a built-in kitchen. <\/p>\n

See more photos of the home here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Price: $2.196M | Size: 6,694 SF | Acreage: 0.92<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f What other Lower Merion residents are reading this week:<\/p>\n

By submitting your written, visual, and\/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer\u2019s Terms of Use<\/a>, including the grant of rights in Section 10.<\/p>\n

This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer\u2019s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com\/donate<\/a>. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org\/supporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hi, Lower Merion! \ud83d\udc4b Township commissioners recently passed the 2026 budget, which includes a tax hike. Here\u2019s what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186,36612],"class_list":{"0":"post-69401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lower-merion","8":"tag-lower-merion","9":"tag-lower-merion-headlines","10":"tag-lower-merion-news","11":"tag-lower-merion-township","12":"tag-lower-merion-new-years-eve-2026-budget-tax-hike"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}