The body in charge of projecting the state’s revenues and expenditures says Delaware will bring in a little bit more and spend a little bit less than its last prediction.
Tuesday marked the Delaware Economic Financial Advisory Council's (DEFAC) last meeting of the year and final meeting under Gov. John Carney's administration.
The council projects the state will rake in $100 million more in the current fiscal year (FY25) than projected at its October meeting, estimating state revenues to hit over $6.6 billion by the end of June.
The state is still expected to spend close to $7 billion this fiscal year, but thanks to the prior year’s cash balance, the council expects the state will end the fiscal year with a net positive of $370 million without dipping into reserves.
While the $6.96 billion spend projection is $23 million less than the body projected at its October meeting, it’s still an 11.7% increase in spending compared to fiscal year 24.
While revenue growth is expected to increase by 2% next fiscal year — dropping slightly from the previous projection of 2.7% — the council is predicting the state will spend $85 million less than this year thanks to the completion of several large-scale capital projects.
These include the completion of the Sussex County Family Courthouse, Troop 6 Wilmington and helicopter replacements — the Kent County Family Courthouse will remain in process.
“The next administration is going to inherit probably the best — we can only go back to 1970 because that's when our system started — but, it's probably the best state financial situation going back to the 1960s, I would guess," said State Secretary of Finance Rick Geisenberger.
Reflecting on the 8 years of Carney's administration, Geisenberger reported a record 7 consecutive budget surpluses, record liquidity, the highest job creation since the late 1990s and a strengthened bond rating on behalf of the state and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).
Geisenberger also noted the administration tripled the OPEB Trust Fund balance, which pays for state retiree healthcare benefits.
The OPEB Trust Fund currently sits at $11.1 billion with just over 11% funded — a decade ago, only around 4.9% was funded.
The state's budget reserve account currently sits at $350 million and the budget stabilization fund — created by Carney and codified by the state legislature this year — sits at $470 million.
“I'm here really just to impress upon you how important the work that you've done for the state is to thank you for that great work. You've helped put the state in a really strong position for the future," Carney said at the end of the meeting.
While the Carney administration feels confident in the immediate budget it is handing over to Governor-elect Matt Meyer’s administration, Delaware’s revenue growth is projected to only become more stagnant in the years to come.
Next fiscal year (FY26), DEFAC is projecting the state to spend $120 million more on state employee salaries, $38 million more on healthcare benefits and $25 million more on Medicaid, but the state is expected to pay $117 million less on contractural services, $58 million less on capital projects and $97 million less on grants for non-profits.
