Inside the Delaware County Council Meeting: August 2026

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Note: County Council is back to their bi-weekly scheduled programming after this last summer meeting…but they are still scheduled for during the work day at 1pm.

Not only is this limiting speech, but it is also limiting who can run for council. If you have a day job, you can’t even make the monthly meetings…and this is supposed to be a part time job.

Chair Richard Womack noted council held an executive session yesterday on litigation matters. He also recapped national night out with Springfield police and the fire department.

Councilwoman Elaine Schaefer opened with announcing that the Sustainability Commission has three vacancies. Two public seats & one municipal rep seat that can go to staff or an elected official from any Delco municipality. Deadline for Apps is Sept 4th.

Dr. Monica Taylor thanked the Health Department for a Back to School Bash in Yeadon.

Vice Chair Christine Reuther touched on the Delco 10 Miler that is on October 4.

Office of Judicial Support. OJS is the filing office for the Court of Common Pleas. They handle civil filings, family including custody and divorce as well as criminal.

Family e filing just launched Oct 15th and of PA’s 40 largest counties, Delco was the only one without criminal e-filing.

Executive Director Barbara O’Malley gave a detailed update.

The county discovered the attack on June 26th when its managed detection and response service flagged suspiciuos network activity. CrowdStrike’s endpoint detection is what caught it. The county took the network offline, and called in state and federal law enforcement.

The county’s findings are that attackers gained remote access on June 26. No evidence of unauthorized access to the county email system or phishing emails. And no activity since the network was secured.

But…the attackers did access data maintained within the network. The county is still determining what types, and will be notifying those affected if personal information was involved.

O’Malley also said their post 2020 upgrades let the county restore its network and data “in a safe and secure manner that did not require us to rely on a decryption key or other outside tools.”

In 2020, the county’s insurer paid the ransom and the public really only got told about a $25k deductible. The county has not said whether it paid anything, or how much.

Charles Alexander, Broomall. He asked how many times pipes have burst at the Lima facility, and read from the Declaration of Independence. Then he asked why juveniles are being sent across state lines under an expensive agreement.

Then he got to Don Guanella and asked why are there no trespassing signs and a new closed gate on a county park as well as why the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are listed as owner on several parcels of the 200+ acre property?

Robert, Swarthmore. Thanked Councilwoman Schaefer for leading on preserving Don Guanella/ Delco Woods, calling it a lifetime legacy item.

Then he described taking his father, a veteran, to get a veterans ID. Going to the courthouse to then be told to go to Drexel Hill. At Drexel Hill they’re told the new county office doesn’t talk to people directly, it’s via phone only. Then they had to drive back to the government center for the photo…His point was that his dad had him, but alot of seniors don’t.

Reuther explained the program is a partnership between the Recorder of Deeds and Veterans Affairs, that the VA office moved to Upper Darby where most social services now are, and that the Recorder of Deeds passed away and the office is under a transition.

Kathy, Edgemont. She worked as a poll worker, so the county has everything on her. She doesn’t know if her Social Security number is out there, etc. (2) months in, no notice or guidance on whether to lock anything down.

Her comparison was Home Depot and Target, whom sent notices telling people exactly what was released and who to contact. And she asked directly whether the county paid a fee again, & whether taxpayers are on the hook for millions in cybersecurity.

Exec Dir O’Malley responded that sharing more could expose the county to further risk, that they’re working with insurance, privacy attorneys and cybersecurity experts on what’s responsible to disclose…and that she’d come back once the review is complete.

Alana, Glenolden. Proposed an emergency floating hospital on the Delaware River between Lester and Chester to fill the gap for the missing trauma center…& proposed it be funded by a $1 toll on Wanamaker Avenue, plus grants and other sources. She emphasized it wouldn’t be a full hospital, but a stabilization point before transfer.

Even though it has been done in other parts of the country…the floating hospital is not happening. Governing this, between the rivers Port Authority and the state, would be a nightmare.

But she’s proposing valid solutions...which is more than most are doing. Prospect Medical Holdings closed Taylor and then Crozer Chester within a week of each other last spring, which included a trauma center.

The county is cutting $391k out of a Mobile Crisis contract and revising the scope of work…two weeks after Ugochukwu Ilodigew was killed in Aldan following a 3:30am call that a Horizon House worker had visited days earlier.

All of these were covered in detail at Tuesday’s preliminary agenda meeting, but here are the quick hits.

Mental health, crisis & drug and alcohol

• Elwyn of PA and Delaware contract value cut by $391,656, term extended through June 2027, and the Scope of Work for Mobile Crisis services revised. Funded 97.94% by the Human Services Block Grant.

• $506,489 added to MVP Recovery LLC for budget revisions, service additions & a newly licensed location. Paid entirely out of the Opioid Settlement Fund.

• New contract with Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Services Inc. for inpatient treatment for adolescent males (July 2026 – June 2027).

• Two separate amendments bringing county drug & alcohol contracts up to PACDAA rates for prevention and inpatient services.

• Mental Health Partnerships contract decreased by $120,679, extended through June 2027.

Housing & human services

• Community Action Agency of Delaware County contract decreased by $158,830, extended through June 2027. Braided funding: $980,757 in CYS Special Housing, $455,355 HOPWA, $150,000 Affordable Housing Fund.

• $95,900 to Keystone Digital Imaging for secure document disposal, scanning & indexing (Aug 2026 – June 2027).

• $210,450 to Data in Action LLC dba DNA Global for “evaluation services,” 76% federally funded through Delinquency Prevention.

Health Department

• $56,650 to The Foundation for Delaware County to continue Doula programs for at-risk birthing families.

• $47,500 to Health Care Solutions of Delaware Valley LLC for strategic consulting on workforce development, wellness & training.

• $34,200 to renew AchieveIt, a cloud performance management platform, bringing that total contract to $136,800.

• $28,000 to the CocoLife Foundation for pregnant and postpartum support services.

• Rate bump for Overbrook School for the Blind vision services, $30.58 to $31.50 per unit, across two contracts.

• New agreement with Bright Beginnings Early Intervention LLC for Early Intervention eligibility evaluations.

Capital & facilities

• $10,610.81 change order to Weatherproofing Technologies for roof restoration & HVAC replacement at George W. Hill, pushing that contract from $17,110,022.43 to $17,120,633.24.

• $3,602.93 in change orders for the Health Department’s Yeadon administration office renovation (ARPA), now $94,602.93.

• $1,195.09 change order on the Government Center fire alarm replacement, now $2,403,230.63.

• No-cost extension for McCormick Taylor to finish design on County Bridge #149, Hilldale Road over Darby Creek in Upper Darby & Lansdowne. Act 13 / Marcellus Shale money.

Tax refunds

• $756,251.84 in 72 court-ordered refunds across 21 municipalities, covering 2021 through 2026.

• $14,578.98 refunded to 38 property owners for overpayment.

Appointments

• Theresa Napson-Williams, Caroline M. Campbell, Jordan Kelso & Julia Millichap to the Children and Youth Services Committee, three years.

• Marta K. Driscoll & Regina Courtney to the Delaware County Authority, five years.

• Marcie Bramucci reappointed to the Visit Delco Board.

• Elleanor Jean Hendley reappointed to the Women’s Commission Board.