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Tyler Tech to perform property reassessment for all of Delaware

Delaware Public Media

All three Delaware counties have selected the same vendor to perform a court-ordered reassessment of all properties in Delaware.

New Castle, Kent and Sussex all decided to hire the Texas-based public sector software company Tyler Tech to handle their reassessments after putting out requests for proposal.

Tyler Tech agreed to complete Kent and Sussex reassessments by February of 2024. New Castle County is still in negotiations with the vendor, but plans to finish its reassessment by 2023.

Kent County’s bill is just under $4.5 million and Sussex is set to pay a little over $9 million.  A New Castle County spokesperson says it will pay about $14.5 million for the job.

Kent County Levy Court President Terry Pepper stresses his county’s reluctance to perform the reassessment. 

“We’re not doing this because we wanted to,” said Pepper during a recent Levy Court meeting. ‘We’re doing this because it was court ordered. So we have no choice other than to proceed with a reassessment.”   

A similar sentiment was echoed at a recent Sussex County Council meeting by its President Michael Vincent.

“This initiative was not instituted by Sussex County Council in any way shape or form,” said Vincent. “It’s a lawsuit brought against the county—all three counties—with people trying to get more money for their school districts. So it’s nothing to do with the county government trying to go in here to try to raise your taxes for some reason.”   

All three counties agreed to do the general reassessment—each for the first time in decades—as part of the settlement of the educational equity lawsuit. 

Last year a Chancery Court judge ruled Delaware’s property tax system unconstitutional, noting the values currently used for assessments are outdated, and therefore inequitable.

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