New Castle County Executive Paul Clark believes the county is on “solid ground” financially and after making “some tough decisions in the past year” finds itself on a “positive and secure path” forward.
State of the County Address
Highlights of New Castle County Executive Paul Clark’s address.
In the first State of the County address of his 14-month term, Clark – a Democrat who took office when former County Executive Chris Coons was elected to the U.S. Senate – shared with County Council members and the citizens of New Castle County the challenges his administration faced in the past year, and steps taken to address those challenges.
Clark called the county government’s delivery of services a “great value.” He noted tax revenues fund public safety services such as police, paramedics and response to 911 calls, as well as libraries, county parks, and water and sewer delivery – not to mention land-use services, housing programs, and sports and recreation opportunities. He says the county is currently able to provide those services at a cost of $42 a month, or $1.37 a day to the average county household.
Clark also outlined several initiatives he intends to pursue in the coming year, including a “jobs stimulus program,” further outreach to the more than 800 civic associations and maintenance corporations in New Castle County, and promoting health and fitness.
For at least one member of Council, Clark’s address was lacking in specifics.
During his half-hour address Tuesday, Clark said the county was facing a serious structural deficit when he took office – “simply stated, we were spending more than we were bringing in.” Without taking action, Clark said New Castle County would have been facing a cumulative budget deficit of $70-million by Fiscal Year 2015, while depleting its reserves. Balancing the budget without raising taxes was complicated by a difficult economy that has seen real estate transfer tax revenues fall from a high of $40-million in Fiscal Year 2006 to about $16-million in Fiscal Year 2011.
Clark said, however, “through hard work, some good fortune and good management, we erased the $7-million deficit in Fiscal Year 2011 – and we did it without layoffs and without service cuts.”
The County Executive highlighted several cost-cutting and efficiency measures that have already been taken:
- utilizing a federal government tax exempt bond program that cuts the county’s borrowing cost by 1.5%, with a potential savings of $10-million over the life of the bonds.
- reforming county employee pensions, resulting in $2-million in savings over the next decade.
- negotiating compensation reductions with several county unions, saving $1.4-million in each of the next two years.
Other cost-saving measures taken by the county improved energy efficiency in government buildings and improved the efficiency of the large fleet of county vehicles.
In the next few weeks, Clark plans to introduce a jobs stimulus program based that would target economic development toward communities with high unemployment and low income, create a strategic policy for economic development, and reallocate a staff position to create the post of “small business advocate.”
Clark concluded by asking for county council’s cooperation on finalizing the 2012 Comprehensive Development Plan Update, reaching out to the hundreds of homeowner associations, launching initiatives to promote health and fitness options such as county parks and trails, further studying the county vehicle fleet, and developing a Fiscal Year 2013 budget that contains no reduction in services and no increase in taxes.
Audio
New Castle County Council President Tom Kovach, a Republican who took office following a special election in January 2011, said he appreciated Clark’s optimistic tone but would like to have heard more about ways to reduce the costs of delivering county services – specifically by addressing the compensation and “post-employment benefits” of county employees which he said threatened to grow the county’s deficit.
“For every $50-thousand you pay a county employee, another $25-thousand is spent on benefits,” Kovach said. He added that higher deductibles and health savings accounts could result in savings without substantively cutting benefits or affecting the quality of life of county workers.
Kovach also would like to have heard more about possible consolidation of services. “What we can do is focus on core government services, do a real evaluation of services and combine services so that we’re not overlapping our own efforts,” Kovach said. “We can provide more effective services by reworking what we have.”
County Council member Tim Sheldon, a Democrat representing the 9th district, said regional and national economic concerns will continue to affect New Castle County’s overall financial well-being.
“Whether we like it or not, the mortgage crisis is still not over with,” Sheldon said.
Clark will present his proposed FY 2013 budget in March.
