Time to Change Delaware

Delaware state revenues, over two years, declined nearly $800 million and yet the state operations budget continued to grow over time. Delaware Medicaid expenditures now cover nearly 225,000 people or nearly 25 percent of our population (mostly women

and children).

Delaware’s General Fund operations budget (GF) reliance on certain volatile and inelastic revenue streams (escheat, casinos) have seen better days. Abandoned property (escheat) and lottery (casinos) revenues are declining and with below-average economic growth and growing healthcare costs, our state structural revenue imbalances will grow without prudent spending restraints. Delaware, like N.J., has plundered our slots facilities with high tax rates. Delaware state employees’ healthcare costs continued spiraling as our administration worked around the edges of increasing healthcare costs.

Del DOT’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) continues to be underfunded meaning infrastructure and roadway improvements are way behind due to static revenues and the transfer of Del DOT employees’ salaries and benefits costs being transferred from the GF to the TTF during the Castle era.