Building Delaware’s FY 2015 capital budget got a bit easier over the past 24 hours.
State officials repeatedly stated they needed to fill about a $12 million gap, but noted with additional bonding authority and other funds the hole now shrinks to $3.2 million.
Lawmakers were helped by nearly $6 million from the recent JP Morgan Chase mortgage case settlement. That covered an affordable rental-housing program typically paid through the capital budget.
JFC members have touted their commitment to job creation, which co-chair Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear/Newark) says is preserved in full in the grant-in-aid.
“It’s absolutely all a balance and so we were hopeful that we were going to get extra money that would’ve been able to go to them, but it just didn’t turn out that way. When you look at the grant-in-aid budget, a lot of the money in there do sustain jobs,” said Smith.
To completely fill the budget gap, Bond Bill Committee members are looking at line items to prune.
Bond Bill co-chair Quinn Johnson (D-Middletown) says one of the first initiatives on the chopping block is Markell’s Downtown Development Districts.
The Markell Administration says it needs to be fully funded at $7 million to have an effect and that it would be spent immediately. Johnson says he thinks projects would be delayed.
“Because there are some requests that are basically holders of money for somewhere down the road and we’re wanting to get money out on the street and jobs today," said Johnson. "So, I believe if there’s even a dollar out there then private companies would be there wanting to take part of it.”
The committee continues its work Wednesday morning.
