In response to Mark Schaeffer’s column about the voluntary school assessment tax, there is no question Sussex County Council made the correct decision.
Councilman Schaeffer is correct that this is simply a tax that will make homes for local residents more expensive. Councilman Schaeffer’s leadership here is exemplary.
The VSA would be a three-headed monster for Sussex County. First, most developers would simply build new subdivisions that are age-restricted (55+) and avoid the VSA completely. DelDOT treats age-restricted communities differently than standard development. The age-restricted communities are factored into local traffic counts at a much lower level. This would reduce the developer’s financial contribution required for the new development. Given the predominant buyer demographic in eastern Sussex, this means fewer road improvements, but the amount of traffic would essentially be the same. Finally, new construction that isn’t age-restricted would be more expensive than ever, and the affordability crisis for younger families would only be worse.
Taxes change people’s behavior. Many eastern Sussex residents are living proof of this reality, as they have left high-tax states and moved here. These people should better understand the implications of bad policy such as the VSA, and it is ironic that many are now advocating for the same type of poor government leadership that caused them to become Sussex County residents in the first place.
The Delaware General Assembly is adept in creating new revenue streams for government. Government doesn’t need more revenue; it needs responsible fiscal stewardship of the already massive amount of money it currently takes from Delaware residents.
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