Fenwick Officials Adopt $2.1M Operating Budget

FENWICK ISLAND – Officials in Fenwick Island last week adopted a $2.1 million operating budget and $63,200 capital improvement budget for the coming fiscal year.

Last Friday, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted unanimously to approve the fiscal year 2020 operating and capital improvement budgets.

Th spending plan includes an operating budget of $2,139,316. Property taxes, rental receipt tax and transfers make up more than 60% of revenue. Expenditures include $769,087 for the Fenwick Island Police Department, $403,966 for general government, $383,605 for administration, $325,354 for lifeguards and $257,304 for the public works department.

The budget also includes $63,200 in capital projects for fiscal year 2020.

The town has budgeted $37,000 for a new police car, $12,500 for pipe and value replacements, $11,700 for place-finding banners and holiday lights and $2,000 to replace stone around right of way areas in town.

Capital projects will be funded using realty transfer tax revenue and a $30,000 grant from Sussex County government.

The council last week also approved a new fee schedule – which included a $25 increase in beach bonfire permits – and a rolled-back property tax rate of $0.174015 per $100 of assessed valuation.

The property tax rate set last week is based on a revaluation project that recently concluded in Fenwick Island. The new assessed value of all real property in town is $398,882,819, or half of the appraised value of $797,765,638.

The fiscal year 2020 financial plan, which will take effect on Aug. 1, can be found on the town’s website.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.