New Castle County Council passed County Executive Matt Meyer’s proposed operating and capital budgets along with legislation meant to encourage development Tuesday.
The spending plan Meyer proposed in March totals just over $375 million— a three percent increase over the current year’s general fund budget and a four percent increase in the sewer fund budget.
County Executive Matt Meyer sees Council’s vote as an endorsement of the way his administration is “moving the county forward.”
“We’re eliminating vacant housing, a problem that had been growing for a decade before we came into office,” he said. “We’re eliminating them faster and more productively and legally than ever before. Not evicting a single person. Generating an additional million dollars of tax revenue. We’re collecting taxes like never before.”
Meyer’s capital budget includes funds for the new Southern Regional Library, park enhancements and sewer improvement projects.
The budget has no new property tax increase. But the second half of the controversial fifteen percent hike narrowly passed by council last year will be phased in July 1.
New Castle County Council also passed legislation that may change how some developers are required to mitigate traffic impacts.
Legislation passed by Tuesday allows for the creation of new Transportation Improvement Districts where transportation infrastructure can be planned around anticipated development — and developers made to share the cost.
The current process requires only projects that would push congestion beyond a certain point pay for traffic fixes in order to be approved. The legislation argues this system may discourage dense development while encourage sprawl in low-traffic areas.
Meyer says he will sign the ordinance. He thinks it will support development in designated areas by making costs more predictable for developers.
“What developers almost unanimously told us is there is an uncertainty to developing across New Castle County,” he said. “So you have a little project that’s adding a little bit of traffic. You in many cases still need to do something called a traffic impact study … which not only is cost but it’s also uncertainty. So you’re paying for a project that you may never actually get built. Now will you have to pay for that little additional traffic you add? Yes. But ... I can just factor it into my costs.”
Development that precedes a new Transportation Improvement District will not need to contribute for traffic fixes.
Meyer also says he thinks the Transportation Improvement Districts would make the process more fair.
“If traffic numbers are high in a certain area, if there’s a failing intersection, it gives developers incentives to come in,” he said. “The problem is now, they’re coming in and they’re not fixing the problem. Because unless this 55-second level of service threshold is tripped, they don’t have to pay. Now we’re saying we don’t care about this arbitrary standard is tripped, you have to pay.”
The Transportation Improvement Districts would go through a public process and would need to be passed by Council. An op-ed Meyer recently co-authored named the Route 9 Corridor, Newport and Claymont as places that would benefit from more development.
Meyer notes the legislation also allows for the creation of “complete community enterprise districts” in New Castle County — which he says could bolster biking, pedestrian and public transportation infrastructure in designated areas.
