Newark City Council reviews major changes made to next year’s proposed budget.
The budget presented in August was $6.2 million short of funding but adjustments to revenue, expenditures, net capital improvements, and net current surplus cover that gap. The proposed spending plan is now $115.3 million, a $3.7 million increase from last year’s budget, or about 3.4 percent larger.
The city is proposing some utility adjustments that will cost residents an average of $1.50 per month more for water and $1.48 for sewer - with a 4 percent electric increase from Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, which the city says will still be lower than Delmarva Power.
Newark is seeking a 10 percent property tax increase too.
“The lower quarter of our assessed property would see $52 added to their tax bill, the highest group was $88, a little more, added to their bill, and the median group would see a $68 annual increase to their bill," says Finance Director David Del Grande.
Del Grande says this will generate $447,500 in revenue and account for two-thirds of the increase in personnel costs for police and dispatch services.
City Manager Tom Coleman notes parking revenue in 2023 did not meet expectations, even with a rate increase
“This means that while our parking revenue is up considerably from 2022 under the new rate structure, it did not generate as much new revenue as we thought it originally would," Coleman says.
This also means that parking rates will likely stay the same, but Coleman is asking council to consider offering parking permits in some lower occupancy lots, which he says would be attractive to Main Street employees and help boost revenue.
The final draft of the budget will be presented to council Oct 30, with the first budget hearing on November 6.
