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Rehoboth commissioners to approve budget March 16

Convention center rates to remain unchanged
March 14, 2018

The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will approve the city’s $21 million budget at their Friday, March 16 regular meeting.

The budget calls for no tax increases, and parking meter fees will remain the same. It does increase all parking permit fees except seasonal transferable and nontransferable permits.

Weekly permits will go from $60 to $80, three-day weekend permits from $35 to $45, weekend-daily from $15 to $20 and weekday daily from $10 to $15. The commissioners declined to move forward on raising the cost of additional permits for rental properties.

City spokeswoman Krys Johnson said permits had already gone out and more time was needed to give rental property owners notice of an increase. Lynn said 18 rental property owners had already submitted payment of $30 for their additional permits.

The expected changes are projected to bring in an additional $272,000 in revenue.

The budget also includes $1.5 million in capital improvements, with city-wide street repaving the biggest ticket item at $450,000. The city plans to budget $50,000 a year over the next five years in order to repair city streets.

Other major projects include $207,000 for storm drain improvements on Wilmington Avenue and $113,000 for sidewalk improvements on Second Street adjacent to Mark Showell Interiors to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Much of the capital improvement budget, which had been proposed as high as $2.8 million at first, was slashed when officials decided to lease new vehicles, mainly pickup trucks for the police department and the streets department, instead of purchasing them outright. The city also cut out $151,000 for a Boardwalk trash truck as city officials reconsider how they want to pick up trash on the Boardwalk.

On the revenue side, the city is projecting $1.3 million in property tax revenue, $1.4 million in transfer tax and $2 million in rental tax. Rental tax revenue is expected to rise by nearly $1 million after it was raised from 3 percent to 6 percent in January.

Parking meter revenue is expected to be about $4 million, with $1.3 million from quarters, $1.4 million from credit cards and $1.2 million from the Parkmobile pay-by-phone system.

In expenses, salaries and benefits remain among the city’s larger expenses, with city administration budgeted $2.1 million, $2.8 million for the police department, $3.2 million for the streets department and $1.1 million for the parking meter department. The city is also planning to use $80,000 to hire a public works director to serve as a second to the city manager and oversee city projects.

Proposed rental rate increases at the convention center will not be happening. The Bandstand/Convention Hall/Special Events Committee had proposed raising the rate for for-profit entities from $600 to $800 for Monday through Thursday events and $3,000 for weekend events. Currently, those entities pay $1,100 for Friday and Sunday events, and $1,300 for Saturdays. The committee argued that rental rates had not been raised since 2009 and the center has operated at a loss for years.

However, a majority of the commissioners did not wish to raise rates after the center had been closed for two years while City Hall was under construction. The commission decided to put off raising rates for at least this year.

The convention center rates and parking permit fees will be voted on along with the budget at the commissioners’ Friday, March 16 meeting.

While the 2018-19 budget is set for approval, the commissioners are looking forward to next year’s budget. Drainage improvements on First Street, a study of the city’s sewer system and removing sediment buildup in Lake Gerar were not funded for this year.

Further discussions are planned for possible streetscape improvements to Wilmington and Baltimore avenues, which were called for in the 2010 comprehensive development plan. The commissioners also plan to deal with a plan for stormwater outfall improvements at five outfalls that empty into the ocean. The city was mandated by Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to study its stormwater system as part of approval of the city’s environmental impact statement for the ocean outfall. The city was required to submit the statement to receive $52.5 million in state funds for that project. From August to October, city engineers GHD conducted water-quality sampling of the city’s stormwater in spots near the stormwater outfalls. At this point, the commissioners have not discussed any concrete plans for how they will move forward with addressing those outfalls.

Mayor Paul Kuhns said, “We’ve got to think about what our priorities are.”

Besides the budget, the commissioners will discuss financial updates on the City Hall and ocean outfall projects, discuss and possibly implement a program for tributes and/ or certificates of appreciation and approve members to the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Trees.

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