Dewey council tables FY 2026 budget amendment

Dewey Beach Town Council unanimously voted Jan. 16, to table a resolution to amend its Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

The town spent about $300,000 more than it budgeted for the year, but it wasn’t because of financial irresponsibility, said Mayor Bill Stevens. Rather, that extra spending was largely from grants and donations received throughout the year, which the town couldn’t have budgeted for at the start of the year.

Grants are not budgeted for because they are not guaranteed, and grant funds are not recognized as revenue until all of the grant’s requirements are met. Grant money is spent only when the town receives it, not when it applies for it.

Notably, the town would not have made certain purchases if it had not received grants to fund those specific purchases.

For example, the police department received nearly $290,000 in grants this year, some of which it used to purchase equipment. It would not have purchased that equipment if it hadn’t gotten that grant money.

The grants end up skewing the budget, misrepresenting the town’s spending.

Commissioner Gary Persinger argued that one-time grants, where the money is coming in and going right back out, don’t need to be shown on the monthly financial reports. The finances are all still being accounted for by the town’s accounting manager, but he believes grants don’t need to show up in the monthly reports, as these are just meant to help council and the public, and are not required to match official accounting records.

Council discussed ways to better represent the flow of funds and to bridge the budget with the actual revenues and expenditures, either throughout the year or at the end of the year.

Council members disagreed about the best way to do this, so they tabled the resolution for now and will revisit it at a later date.