By Rachel Sawicki

MIDDLETOWN — Keeping his promise of no new taxes, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer delivered his proposed $318 million budget for fiscal year 2023 Tuesday at the under-construction Appoquinimink Public Library.

“There has been a county budget address every year, but it has never been delivered in southern New Castle County,” Mr. Meyer said. “So we did the address here to draw attention to this significant part of the county and to highlight the fact that there is a cool new library, and we want you to use it.”

As recommended by Mr. Meyer, the operating budget — made up of the general fund, the sewer fund, the light tax fund and the school crossing guards fund — is $318,715,112, a 2.28% increase from the current year.

He said that, since the county has prioritized no raises in residents’ taxes, that 2.28% will come from the tax-stabilization reserves, which has been built up from $19 million to $60 million since he took office in 2017.

“Every Delawarean is seeing rising costs of labor, fuel, almost anything,” Mr. Meyer said. “Inflation is at levels we haven’t seen in decades. When you run a government organization with a $300 million budget and 2,000 employees, we see those costs, too. And we’ve managed to juggle things to continue without any tax increase and without any sewer fee increases.”

Parks, open space and land preservation are hot topics in New Castle County, particularly in the Middletown area, where Mr. Meyer said many residents feel they are “buying into” the county without actually receiving many resources.

The departments of Public Safety and Public Works will receive the majority of funds — $118,851,827 (a 2.31% increase) and $76,405,309 (a 3.33% increase), respectively, from last year’s budget. The departments with the largest increases are the County Executive Office at 4.08%, Administration Services at 4.44% and Community Services at 4.85%.

The capital budget recommendation is $39,549,862, which will mostly fund community services and park projects, including $17 million allocated for the planning of a library in Newark. It is not yet known whether there will be a new facility or renovations and expansion of the current Newark Free Library, Mr. Meyer said.

Approximately $8.6 million will be spent on park improvements and construction. Southern Regional Park, the newest county park on Shallcross Lake Road in Middletown, is getting $4.5 million. Mr. Meyer said he expects to break ground on that park this fall, and he added that it will include several pickleball courts, which area residents have voiced a desire for.

He noted a crisis of housing affordability in the region, and to address that, New Castle County recently announced a $30 million affordable-housing stimulus program, which has already received over 10 proposals.

“But our efforts have actually already infused at least $40 million of housing stimulus into our economy, by turning vacant spaces into livable places,” Mr. Meyer said. “A task force we created five years ago in consultation with the County Council has taken nearly 800 vacant residential properties in New Castle County and transformed them into private, occupied homes. That’s a 59% decrease in vacant delinquent properties in our county.”

Another large focus within the budget is emergency response and law enforcement funding. Mr. Meyer said that, in 2016, the county was answering only 65% of 911 calls in 10 seconds or less. That number has soared to 93%, past the national standard of 90%.

“Nobody really thinks about it until you call 911,” he said. “But it’s something we do that actually saves lives. That difference between 65% and 93%, that’s a whole lot of calls.”

Over the next five years, $3.85 million from the capital budget will be spent on improvements to the 911 system, which includes the New Castle County 911 Center.

The New Castle County Police Behavioral Health Unit, which focuses on mental health and substance use disorder, will be receiving an additional $749,000 in federal support.

Mr. Meyer said that, since 2019, the unit has responded to 1,120 emergency calls and has prevented over 500 individuals from entering incarceration or hospitalization. He cited a University of Delaware study, which reports that the initiative has resulted in an average reduction of 7.25 nonfatal overdoses and 1.85 fatal overdoses per month over the past four years.

“That is nearly 100 people alive today who would not have made it without this program,” he said. “We don’t want overly militaristic responses. We don’t want to incarcerate people who have a disease, a mental health illness.”

The county is also engaging in workforce-development programs with high school students. Almost 120 youth are gaining experience through a year-round employment program, including 11 students who are participating in the New Castle County Police Youth Academy, a three-year project to mentor youth and provide information about careers in law enforcement.

Additionally, through the county Youth Planning Board, 20 people annually have been contributing to the comprehensive plan and learning how policies are made and implemented.

Mr. Meyer also announced on Tuesday that officials will be asking the state for a 60-day extension on the county’s 2050 comprehensive plan due to a high volume of public feedback.

“The comprehensive plan in New Castle County has never been done like this,” Mr. Meyer said. “It was such an open process. I’m not sure we knew completely what we were getting, but in my experience, in my sixth year of my first elective office, when you go to the community and you ask what you want your community to be, you’ll hear from them.”

He noted that, over the past two years, over 40,000 people have voiced their opinions through the NCC@2050 website and more than 125,000 through social media. Close to 1,000 residents have participated in online surveys, and nearly 2,000 people registered for or attended 25 in-person and online meetings. Constituents submitted 115 comments on various aspects of the plan at those meetings.

“Hearing so much feedback from so many different perspectives means not everyone will get exactly what they want from this plan,” Mr. Meyer said. “But we will continue to work to find common ground, to address the most urgent community concerns and deliver a plan that is good for our shared sustainable, equitable and vibrant future. And that is called democracy.”

Mr. Meyer’s budget proposal will now be debated before New Castle County Council during an upcoming meeting.