Sussex County’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2010 will be presented at the May 19 council meeting at 3 p.m. County Administrator David Baker said on Tuesday that they will recommend reductions to Grant-in-Aid funding to help alleviate the projected $3.8 million loss in general fund net income for 2009.
Reductions may be taken from several items, including fire service, the county’s state police program, housing assistance and local law enforcement grants. Baker said the county plans to maintain the 40 state troopers they fund in addition to what the state provides; however, funding for local police could drop from $525,000 to $262,500.
“I recommend we get back to funding 100 percent for local law enforcement,” said council member George Cole (R-Ocean View). “Local law enforcement is in dire need, more so than the state police. And they can respond faster typically than state police.”
Baker said he would try and find out what kind of impact there would be upon getting rid of the 40 state troopers and instead funding local officers.
Council voted at its May 12 meeting to appoint a new county attorney, a position currently held by Jim Griffin of Griffin & Hackett, P.A. in Georgetown. Effective July 1, the county will be represented by Moore & Rutt, P.A., of Georgetown, with J. Everett Moore Jr. serving as lead counsel. Griffin & Hackett will continue to represent the planning & zoning commission. The new council, which took over in January, wanted to appoint its own attorney.
In other business:
• Finance director Susan Webb introduced an ordinance to authorize the issuance of up to $500,000 of general obligation bonds of Sussex County for the construction and equipping of the Prince George’s Acres expansion of the Dagsboro-Frankford sanitary sewer district. A public hearing will be held at a future date.
• Webb came back to council with an update on the pension plan after presenting at the last council meeting that the current investment policy is at 70/30 [70 equity, 30 fixed income]. Webb said it should be more at 50/50 allocation. The market for March indicated equity at 43 percent and, in April at nearly 46 percent. The council asked her to hold off on taking action to see where the market moves next.
• Glenn Luedtke, director of Emergency Medical Services, reported to the council the increase in number of calls and reduction in state funding for paramedics. Last year there were a total of 5,190 paramedic calls in Sussex, with the majority in Seaford, Georgetown, Milford and Millsboro. State and county contribution was 40/60 percent, respectively in 2005 and is expected to be 30/70 percent in 2010. In 2008, the county paid approximately $2,300,727 for the total calls. Luedtke said he anticipates the call volume increasing by 5 percent each year.
• The Sussex County Advisory Committee for the Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities will meet May 18 at 10 a.m. at the West Complex on Route 113 in Georgetown.
• The county council prayer breakfast which is open to the public, will be held May 15 at 7 a.m. at the CHEER center in Georgetown. A few tickets are still available. Call 855-7743 for more information.
SUSSEX COUNTY —
