General Fund Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

The General Fund has a Fiscal Year 2023 Budget of $176,865,305 in expenditures and $186,395,170 in revenues before transfers.

Click here for a Citizen's Guide to the Budget Process. Learn how the Budget is created and view a timeline of events.

Click here to view the FY 2023 Budget Book and here to read the FY 2023 Budget Ordinance.

Click here for a glossary of terms used in this page and the FY 2023 Budget Book.

FY 2023 Budget Highlights

The FY 2023 General Fund operating budget expenditures total $176,865,305 – up $4,162,904 or 2.4% from FY 2022. To help balance the budget, a 6.0% Property Tax increase was approved, along with the use of federal ARPA revenue replacement funding.

The budget contains a $2.34 million allowance to cover salary increases as dictated by union labor contracts and for a 2.0% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) salary increase for non-union employees. In addition, mandatory anniversary salary step increases for certain employees added just over $574,000 to the budget.

Staffing decreased by a net total of 15.72 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and includes changes made in the mid-FY 2022 budget amendment. Personnel actions, including changes in grades and shifts to split- funded positions, resulted in a total net decrease of $571,989.

The Department of Planning & Development has become the Department of Land Use and Planning. It was reorganized by transferring in those processes, employees, and budget accounts from the Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) related to permitting, plan reviews, and land development. Among other things, the proper integration of processes and employees will ensure a more efficient review and response to land development requests. Fifteen employees were transferred in from L&I; two existing positions in Planning & Development were deleted; and four new positions were created. In addition, the position of Deputy Commissioner in L&I was deleted. The net increase across both departments is almost $217,700 (Land Use & Planning - up $2.39 million and L&I - down $2.17 million).

Click here for more FY 2023 Budget Highlights.

Breakdown of FY 2023 Budgeted Expenditures by Type

Breakdown of FY 2023 Budgeted Expenditures by Department

General Fund Staffing Levels Over Past 5 Years*

*Note: City staffing levels are measured in units of full-time equivalents (FTE). Many positions in the City are split-funded, which may result in a fractional FTE. For example, a position could be funded 60% from the General Fund and 40% from the Water/Sewer Fund, resulting in a 0.60 FTE in the General Fund.

Breakdown of FY 2023 Budgeted Revenues by Type

Overview of Budgeted Revenues

Total General Fund revenue before transfers is budgeted to be $186,120,170, a net increase of $19.9 million, or 11.9%, above the FY 2022 budget. This includes one-time American Rescue Plan (ARPA) revenues of $12.0 million. Without the ARPA funds, total revenue would be up $7.9 million or 4.7%.

Wage & Net Profits Taxes, the General Fund's largest source of revenue, are expected to grow by $2.1 million to a new total of nearly $72.2 million. While wage tax refunds associated with the continuing trend toward work-from-home are projected to lead to a loss of about $3.6 million, these losses are expected to be more than offset by increasing wages and improved collection efforts. In addition, Net Profits revenue is expected to grow by $1.5 million.

Wage Taxes are derived from the 1.25% tax the City applies to the gross earned income of city residents, as well as the gross earned income of non-city residents working within the city limits. Net Profits revenue is derived from a 1.25% tax on the net profits of business partnerships, professional associations, and limited liability corporations. These rates are controlled by the Delaware General Assembly and cannot be adjusted by the City.

Property Taxes, the General Fund's second-largest source of revenue, are projected to total $45.9 million, an increase of $2.7 million, or 6.1%, relative to the FY 2022 budget. Projected base billings for FY 2023 are $42.8 million per New Castle County assessments. This is $280,000 lower than FY 2022, and nearly $500,000 lower than FY 2021, driven mainly by several large commercial properties receiving downward reassessments from the County.

The property tax is the City of Wilmington’s second-largest revenue source, and the single largest revenue source with a tax rate directly controlled by the Mayor and City Council. The total assessed value of all property in the City is $3.54 billion, with a taxable assessed value of $2.14 billion after exempted properties are excluded. All assessments are adjusted to, and reported in, 1983 dollar values. For FY 2023, the tax rate is $2.115 per one-hundred dollars of assessed value.