Rehoboth Beach commissioners adopt $38 million budget, raise taxes and fees

Rehoboth Beach commissioners are raising taxes and fees across the board to cover an over-$4 million budget deficit this year.

Mayor Stan Mills and the commissioners adopted the over-$38 million plan for fiscal year 2025 on March 15. Mills called the budget, up by about $2 million from last year, “the most challenging I’ve ever faced.”

Increases include:

Rehoboth Beach Mayor Stan Mills.
Rehoboth Beach Mayor Stan Mills.

Notably, the property tax increase has not been finalized but is expected to be voted on at the commissioners’ June meeting, according to Rehoboth Beach spokesperson Lynne Coan.

The property tax increase will go from 6 cents per $100 of assessed value to 7.75 cents per $100 of assessed value. For perspective, the annual tax bill for a home assessed at $100,000 would go from $60 to $77.50.

In addition, the commissioners expect to increase various mercantile license fees, Coan said, but she's not yet sure when.

The $10 million in infrastructure improvements the budget funds this year include:

  • The construction of new beach patrol headquarters and restrooms on Baltimore Avenue.

  • Wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

  • The resurfacing of the first two blocks of Rehoboth Avenue (in coordination with a state project to resurface the rest of the street).

  • Paving improvements on Maryland Avenue and First Street.

  • A water main replacement on Maryland Avenue.

Other items to be funded this year:

  • Salary increases ("as indicated by a compensation and classification study," Coan said).

  • A 27% increase in employee health insurance costs.

  • New positions, including a deputy police chief, two additional entry-level police officers, a part-time deputy clerk, an additional 911 dispatcher and a part-time communications specialist.

  • The development of a new city website.

  • The development of a new stormwater management plan.

  • Extended hours for restroom attendants in the summer season.

  • The replacement of a street sweeper.

  • Contributions to community organizations.

The final budget document is not yet available but will be posted at cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Rehoboth Beach commissioners raise taxes and fees to cover $38M budget