The New Castle County Council voted down a 15 percent property tax increase but did OK a 12 percent sewer fee hike, WDEL and other media outlets reported.
The administration of County Executive Matthew Meyer warned that without the property tax increase and authorizing a hotel room tax that would have to first be approved by the General Assembly, the government unit will exhaust its surplus.
Meyer has warned that cuts in library, park and even law enforcement services would have to take place to deal with a structural budget deficit.
The County Executive issued the following statement that claimed the claimed the council rejected a common-sense budget.
“For five years, county government has spent more money than it has taken in as revenue. As a result, we are running out of money to fund government services. Tonight, County Council rejected a plan to fully fund police, paramedics, libraries and parks that would cost about an extra dollar a week. County Council rejected a plan to fix the irresponsible decisions of the past administration and put our great county back on solid footing. In 20 town halls, I listened to the residents of this county. They overwhelmingly supported the responsible budget rejected by Council tonight. The results of tonight might be severe as we now must consider cuts to critical services. As we move forward, I will continue to listen to you. I will continue to fight for you.”
Often blamed for the budget pressures are rising personnel costs that come from labor agreements that build in yearly pay increases for county workers, something that rarely occurs in the private sector.
Under labor agreements, New County employees are guaranteed yearly pay increases during their early careers. Pay scales have also been adjusted for other county workers. Raises are often extended to other workers.
Former County Executive Tom Gordon avoided property tax increases during his 12 years in the top county post. However, his successors, current U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and now Meyer, have cited past practices in proposing property tax increases that amount to less than $100 a year.
Some property taxpayers have expressed their displeasure with the proposed increase, claiming that the current budget has plenty of fat that can be cut.
However, previous proposals in the past to cut library and park services have also been met with opposition. (See earlier story).
