County Executive Matthew Meyer introduced a proposed the fiscal year 2018 budget that avoids a property tax increase and cuts capital spending.
Mayer says the budget also deals with a structural budget deficit that will grow to $20 million over the next two years.
“New Castle County provides critical services our people need every day, from public safety and emergency management to the state’s largest sanitary sewer and library system and 250 parks,” County Executive Meyer said. “That record of service is built on the quality of our county employees who work hard day and night to keep us safe and drive our quality of life. During this challenging fiscal environment, we are working hard to meet our obligations, support our people and embrace new ideas and collaborations to meet our core mission while spending within our means. When I ran for office, I promised a county government that is transparent and responsive and that we could do more with less, and my proposed the fiscal year 2018 budget meets that goal.”
“New Castle County families cannot spend more than they bring in, and neither can our government and so within weeks of taking office we acted responsibly by taking several preliminary steps to reduce spending,” Meyer said.
The cost containment strategies initiated in February 2017 included:
- An intensive hiring review of all vacant positions, including all recruiting and interviewing currently underway;
- Suspension of the policy allowing active employees to cash out unused vacation time;
- Suspension of discretionary overtime, except for Public Safety and other critical needs;
- Suspension of all out-of-state travel;
- Reduction in executive office spending, including outside contracts
“I am committed to putting our financial house in order to ensure that we do not leave to our successors the structural deficit we found ourselves facing on day one,” Meyer said. “My team and I are work diligently to identify efficiencies and other cost reductions to restore fiscal discipline.”
Meyer announced that his Administration has identified $5.1 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year 2018, including:
- Personnel Cost reductions, $2.11 million
- General Fund Cash to Capital, $0.98 million
- Base Budget Reductions, $0.71 million
Meyer also announced his support for four initiatives to reduce spending in the years ahead:
- County Executive has commissioned an intensive performance review to begin in April that will evaluate performance and efficiency of each major function of county government. This review, which is being provided at no cost to taxpayers, will recommend ways to eliminate inefficiencies and restore fiscal balance.
- Legislation is being proposed by Council members Hollins, Smiley and Powers to modify the apprenticeship contracting requirements for county construction projects to be more inclusive of small, minority and women-owned businesses, keep construction spending in state and save $2-5 million for the county each year.
- A package of good government legislation to be sponsored by Councilmembers Kilpatrick and Smiley will expand the county’s anti-nepotism ordinance, prevent lame-duck political appointments, and provide additional oversight of county investments.
- Implementing a culture of honesty and ethics.
The proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Operating and Capital Budgets total $284,013,694. It reduces the general fund capital budget by more than half from Fiscal Year 2017 levels to $15.3 million and total capital budget spending, including the sewer fund, is reduced by 30 percent to $35.4 million.
“Our proposed budget invests in our future through targeted investments in health, safety, qualify of life and economic growth, while making difficult choices to align expenditures with revenues in the years ahead,” Meyer said. “I look forward to engaging with County Council and others to finalize the fiscal year 2018 budget as we continue to build a county government that is more honest, open, and responsive.”
