New Castle County Council hosted its first budget hearing Thursday, combing over County Executive Marcus Henry’s plan to fill a budget shortfall.
Henry said the county relied on temporary pandemic emergency funds and reserves to pay for permanent operating costs.
The County’s Chief Financial Officer Dave Del Grande asked department managers what they needed to operate effectively. That number totalled over $424 million, $50 million higher the 2026 budget.
He said some costs are unavoidable.
“We are a service driven organization,” Del Grande said. “Of our $16.4 million increase, $14.4 [million] of that is going towards wages and benefits for our workforce, as 84% of our workforce are represented by labor unions. Included in this increase is funding to restore service levels to public safety.”
Del Grande noted the proposed budget increases funding toward police, EMS and emergency communications. To offset these costs, the plan calls for cutting $2.5 million for Open Space and Agricultural Preservation and leaving 56 unfilled positions valued at $5.7 million.
Cuts also included having every library close one day each week, a move Del Grande said will save the County $882 thousand.
“But not every library will be closed the same day, so it'll be rotating…There will at least be some libraries open every day of the week.”
Council President Monique Williams Johns said she’s disappointed by the proposal.
“I know you've been working these numbers day and night, but the libraries, to me, is going to hurt our children,” Johns said.
The proposed budget also reduces part-time funding by $1 million and pauses some community programming. Councilmembers hold another budget hearing Thursday, April 23.
