Agenda for Regular Meeting

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. This Substitute Ordinance sets the property tax rate for Fiscal Year 2026 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) based on the certification by the Board of Assessment of the assessed valuation of taxable real property in the City and the Mayor’s estimates of revenue measures necessary to balance the City budget as required by the City Charter.  The property tax rate has been changed from 21.1500 mills in Fiscal Year 2025 to 3.7413 mills for the residential property class and 5.8276 mills for the non-residential property classes in Fiscal Year 2026.  These new rates have been calculated (i) so that when applied to the new 2024 assessed values that resulted from the recently completed general property value reassessment done by New Castle County, there is no change in the Fiscal Year 2026 projected total billed property tax revenue to the City when compared to Fiscal Year 2025, prior to when the general property value reassessment was done, and to (ii) address certain anomalies in New Castle County’s reassessment model with respect to the City that over-assessed lower value properties and made the assessments inconsistent.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance enacts the Capital Program for the six Fiscal Years 2026 – 2031, inclusive.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance enacts the Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Budget.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance enacts the annual Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance enacts water, sewer, and stormwater charges and rates for Fiscal Year 2026.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance authorizes the City to execute an agreement with PMA Management Corp. for third-party claim administrative services for the period of one (1) year from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, with the option of three (3) one-year extensions thereafter.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval.  This Ordinance amends Chapters 4, 5, 13, 34, and 44 of the City Code to standardize the procedure for the application of partial payments made by customers for unpaid fees, civil fines, civil penalties, and taxes that are due and owing to the City.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance amends the City’s Organizational Chart to include managers and supervisors within the myriad departments.  The Ordinance also cleans up typographical errors.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance makes stylistic, but not substantive, changes to Section 37-125 of the City Code. 

Synopsis:        This Resolution is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. This Resolution authorizes the Wilmington Police Department’s grant application to the State of Delaware Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund in the amount of $86,000.  The proposed grant funds would be used to purchase (i) 10 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to replace outdated, nonfunctioning equipment and (ii) 300 flashlights to replace aging flashlights that are mounted on Department-issued weapons. No local matching funds are required.

Synopsis:        This Resolution is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. This Resolution authorizes the Wilmington Police Department’s grant application to the State of Delaware Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund in the amount of $63,000.  The proposed grant funds would be used to purchase (i) a Zodiak rescue boat to replace the Department’s current vessel, which is more than 25 years old and in need of replacement and (ii) a concession trailer that would be used during community engagement and recruitment events.  No local matching funds are required.

Synopsis:        This Resolution is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. The Wilmington City Council 2022-2025 Strategic Plan prioritizes a “Safe and Secure Wilmington” by supporting legislative action that deters illicit activity. This Resolution requests that the honorable members of the Delaware General Assembly amend Title 21 of the Delaware Code regarding conditions permitting reissuance of vehicle registration numbers to require an extended timeframe for reissuing vehicle registration numbers associated with license plates that have not been surrendered to the Division of Motor Vehicles. As our  State works to keep pace with the technological threats to the vehicle registration number system, this adaptation can provide meaningful relief for motorists who have experienced the impacts of license plate duplication.

Synopsis:        This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. This Ordinance amends Section 44-64 of the City Code to: (i) increase the exemption on real property taxes for elderly and disabled persons to the first $210,300.00 of assessed value of real property; (ii) increase the income threshold for participation in the real property tax exemption to $15,650.00 for an individual and $21,150.00 for a married couple; and (iii) delete, as a housekeeping matter, references to the real property tax exemption for caregivers that expired in 2019.

Synopsis:         This Resolution is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval.  The City’s Board of Assessment is vested with the exclusive authority to determine the assessments of taxable real property in the City.  For Fiscal Year 2026, the Board of Assessment adopted the recently completed reassessment done by New Castle County through Tyler Technologies.  The reassessment values for property in the City are disproportionately high in comparison to the reassessed values of property outside the City and also fail to meet industry standards.  This resolution urges the Board of Assessment to withdraw its certification and adopt assessed values for property in the City which meet industry standards and do not result in disproportionate assessment values.