The City of Lewes approves its fiscal year 2026 budget – a spending plan without a change to property tax rates.
Property taxes are a popular topic of discussion in Delaware as the counties conclude court-mandated property reassessments.
Just one month after final values in Sussex County came in, the City of Lewes decided against a tax rate increase it had previously considered, according to Lewes city manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe.
“As conversations and hearings with the mayor and city council progressed, it became evident that a tax increase was not needed to produce a balanced budget for fiscal year 26,” McCabe said.
McCabe added City Council approved increases in other areas, the largest being the raise of the building permit fee from 1.5 to 3 percent. There were smaller increases elsewhere, including the transient slip rentals at Canalfront Park and for weddings in city parks.
Lewes’ budget revenues are up 30 percent with the new budget, largely due to an increased building permit fee. And expenditures are down almost 5 percent from fiscal year 2025.
The city also created a resiliency fund. That will have varied sources of funding including 2 percent of the gross rental receipts, 2 percent of the parking meter revenue and money from the General Fund, according to McCabe.
“There has been a growing need to create this fund. In addition, this fund will provide a matching opportunity for grants as they become available. It'll also provide a potential funding source to pay for infrastructure to make it more resilient.”
City Council has not approved any expenditures from the fund with a further discussion of its use to be part of a public hearing April 7.
