NCCo Council rejects sewer fee increase and police expansion
New Castle County residents' sewer and property tax bills will stay the same after County Council on Tuesday approved local government's $284 million budget for the coming year.
Disagreements over spending for public safety and sewers weighed heavily on the budget conversation as county expenditures are budgeted to rise 7 percent over last year — an increase largely due to increasing personnel costs.
Concerns about rising costs for salaries and benefits led County Council to bat down a budget proposal to add 40 new police officers to the county's current authorized force of 400.
Councilman Jea Street, who sponsored the budget amendment, said the county force is understaffed compared with nearby jurisdictions with larger populations and county officers would be safer if there were two officers per patrol vehicle.
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He added recent uses of deadly force by county police has put officers at greater risk.
"Our Police Department has waited long enough for the support they desperately need," Street said.
The county currently employs 358 officers with a hiring academy underway and another one planned.
Master Cpl. Michael Zielinski, who heads the county police union, said there will soon be some 71 officers ready to retire and that new technology like body cameras have put more officers in off-the-street roles. He said adding to the authorized force will give the department more leeway to deal with retirements.
However, council members balked at the cost, which was projected to be $5.8 million and would have been paid for through tax reserves.
"I think they are a fantastic department, but I can't do a $5 million increase in this budget," said Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick.
Speaking on behalf of County Executive Matt Meyer's administration, Rashad Taylor, the county's deputy chief administrative officer, said the police hires would cost $144,000 each including salaries and benefits.
"We do not feel it would be prudent at this time to add these police officers," Taylor said.
County Council also rejected an effort to raise sewer rates by 5.5 percent. The change would have brought in $3 million more for the county's sewer fund, which is used to conduct maintenance on the county's sewer system as well as plan and administer future upgrades.
Councilman John Cartier, who sponsored the legislation, said the change would have cost the average residential sewer customer approximately $15 more annually.
Cartier said the county has had to dip into reserve funds to pay for sewer expenses for years running — the increase would have avoided that for the coming year. That reserve pot currently has about $10 million.
"I feel that having small increments in sewer charge increases is better than charging large rate increases on our citizens," Cartier said.
However, the measure failed after some council members said the county needs a more thorough look at how sewer fees are charged. Kilpatrick said the issue needed more investigation.
"You don't, less than a week before the vote, bring up such controversial issues," Kilpatrick said.
Councilman Jea Street rejected the proposal saying that his district hasn't seen enough sewer work.
Another budget amendment that would have eliminated some 89 vacant-but-funded positions within county government failed.
The measure was pushed by Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle, who argued the county could save some $5 million by eliminating vacant positions, some of which have been unfilled for years.
"This isn't adversarial," Hartley-Nagle said. "This is a process to make sure we are cutting the fat."
Chris Schetzler, president of the AFSCME Local 1607, one of the unions representing county employees, said the change would heap even more pressure on county workers who are already "doing more with less."
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"To cut that many vacancies in the budget would drastically affect the way this government is operating," Schetzler said.
Taylor said Meyer's administration is doing a top-down evaluation of each county department and was not in favor of the cull.
"We feel like this amendment takes a machete to the budget when we should be using a scalpel," Taylor said.
Rising personnel costs are a continuing concern for county lawmakers. Meyer's administration projected a $13 million deficit over the coming year.
"We committed to reduce that deficit through honest, transparent and efficient governance," Meyer said in a written statement after the budget was approved. "We thank the members of County Council who, working collaboratively with my administration, passed a sensible budget tonight that takes another important step towards fulfilling that commitment.”
The budget passed Tuesday will likely require the county to spend more than $8 million from its tax stabilization reserves over the coming years. That fund currently has about $35 million.
While the county's budgeting process is complete, county officials fear cost could be driven up by state action. State lawmakers are working to close a $400 million budget deficit in time to enact state government's budget at the end of June.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@