General Fund Fiscal Year 2020 Budget

The General Fund has a Fiscal Year 2020 Budget of $167,387,739 in expenditures and $169,947,653 in revenues.

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 2020 Budget Book and here to read the FY 2020 Budget Ordinance.

Click here for a glossary of terms used in this page and the FY 2020 Budget Book.

FY 2020 Budget Highlights

The FY 2020 operating budget expenditures total $167,387,739 – up $5,088,738 or 3.1% from FY 2019. The budget was balanced without a Property Tax increase or use of the Tax Stabilization Reserve.

A large portion of the increase from FY 2019 - approximately $2.1 million - comes from the elimination of the Mayor's Office Internal Service Funds and the creation of a new Department of Information Technologies in the General Fund. The new Department has a budget of just under $8.6 million. However, the cost of IT services will no longer be prorated back to users. This has allowed for the elimination of departmental internal service chargeback accounts across all City funds and departments, saving the General Fund $6.5 million. The remaining $2.1 million net cost increase to the General Fund ($8.6 million minus $6.5 million) has been covered by a corresponding increase in Indirect Costs revenue from the Water/Sewer Fund. Thus, the net effect of the new department on the bottom line of the General Fund is zero.

The budget contains a $1.5 million allowance for an up to 2.0% cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) salary increase for eligible employees. In addition, mandatory anniversary salary step increases for classified service employees added $381,000 to the budget. Lastly, the latest biennial employee appeals process led to an increase of $120,031.

Staffing in the General Fund increased by a net total of 30.42 full-time equivalents (FTE), which includes changes made in the mid-FY 2019 budget amendment. The majority of this increase in staffing comes from the transfer of 21 positions from the Mayor's Office Internal Service Funds to the new Department of Information Technologies. Thus, only 9.42 FTEs are new to the City. The change in FTEs, along with other personnel actions, including changes in grades and salary adjustments, resulted in a total net increase of $2.91 million.

Click here for more FY 2020 Budget Highlights.

Breakdown of FY 2020 Budgeted Expenditures by Type

Breakdown of FY 2020 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 2020 Budgeted Revenues by Type

Overview of Budgeted Revenues

Total revenue before transfers is projected to increase by a net $7,619,805 or 4.7% above the FY 2019 budget, to a new total of $169,672,653.

Wage & Net Profits Tax, the General Fund's largest source of revenue, is expected to grow by $2 million in FY 2020. Wage Tax revenue is projected to be slightly less than $64.0 million. This is built on an adjusted starting Wage Tax base of $61.2 million, which includes $65,000 expected to be added to the base by FY 2019 audit activities. While job growth is assumed to be flat for FY 2020, higher employee compensation is projected to increase taxable wages by 2.5%, further expanding the base revenue by $1.5 million. (For comparison, the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council's (DEFAC) March 2019 report projects State wages and salaries growth to be 3.7% in FY 2020.) Finally, audit and collection efforts in FY 2020 are expected to yield $1.25 million in one-time revenue, the same as the current fiscal year. Net Profits revenue, which is remitted by business partnerships, professional associations, and limited liability corporations, is expected to remain stable in FY 2020, for a total of $6.5 million.

Property Taxes, the General Fund's second largest source of revenue, are projected to total slightly more than $42.9 million, an increase of $348,237. Projected base billings for FY 2020 are $42.8 million, which is inclusive of $371,000 in incentives expiring in FY 2019. This base is reduced by a projected $250,000 resulting from reassessment appeals, though this is partially offset by a combined $52,972 in additional revenue due to expiring tax incentives and projected property improvements. The usual 2.0% allowance for doubtful accounts further reduces revenue by $851,000. Lastly, one-time revenue from Penalty and Interest is expected to be $1.2 million, up $200,000 over FY 2019 due to improved collection efforts. There is no Property Tax rate increase included in the FY 2020 budget.