The Committee of 100 | FYI Archives

While the focus has been on the shift of residential development from New Castle County to Middletown and other municipalities in Southern New Castle County, there has been a less-noticed shift in commercial development. In 2000, New Castle County had 138 Commercial/Industrial Building Permits with a valuation of $176,333,373. In 2001, with 173 new permits, the valuation dropped to $133,002,360 and in 2002, 123 permits were valued at $60,276,160.

Middletown continues to be the place for growth in residential development. In 1997, Middletown only had 77 residential building permits. By 2000, there were 434; 2001 peaked at 608; 2002 dropped back to 492. In 1997 New Castle County had 2,153 residential permits. By 2000, that number dropped to 1,503. In 2001 it was 1,592 and in 2002 it was 2,027. Middletown's numbers include no apartments in any year, while New Castle County had 127 multi-residential permits in 2002 alone.

The Unified Development Code has been in place for five years now, and pre-UDC plans are nearing extinction. All pre-UDC plans where construction had not begun by December 31, 2002 are now extinct under the UDC's sunsetting provision. Most of the pre-UDC plans where construction has begun will soon be built out. The impact of getting new plans through the Unified Development Code is now becoming more evident.

Valihura's Raid on the Transportation Trust Fund

The Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) is already taking a $9.7 million hit via Governor Minner's FY 2004 Budget that proposes transferring the Division of Motor Vehicles into DelDOT. While Governor Minner's proposal will transfer transportation dollars away from construction and into operations, from an organization standpoint, the move makes sense. Not so for Representative Robert J. Valihura's proposal to take money from the Transportation Trust Fund and use it to purchase open space in Delaware. Bob Valihura is currently president of Delaware Greenways.

Valihura's plan poses several problems. First, the Transportation Trust Fund is already short of the dollars it needs to address important transportation problems that are currently limiting economic development in the State. Valihura's proposal would permanently divert these crucial dollars to a non-transportation use. Second, the construction made possible because of the surety of income in the TTF provides jobs that are especially needed during these difficult economic times. State spending on open land produces no jobs. Third, the precedent set by raiding the Transportation Trust Fund for something like the purchase of open space will lead others with vested interests to seek additional Trust Fund dollars for projects deemed more worthy, such as housing for the disabled. Fourth, raiding the TTF would impact the Fund's bond rating. Delaware enjoys the highest bond rating because of its strict fiscal process and limits, such as the DEFAC projections, its 98% rule, and its rainy-day fund that is not readily tapped as it is in other states. The Transportation Trust Fund enjoys that same surety because its income is designated and we have not raided the fund for non-transportation uses. We risk our good rating -- the loss of which would cost us much more in the long run -- by threatening to raid the Fund.

Chief Justice Norman Veasey's Warning

On January 6th Delaware Chief Justice E. Norman Veasey's comments at a round-table discussion on executive compensation sponsored by the University of Delaware's Center for Corporate Governance and the Harvard Business Review made The Wall Street Journal. In an article by Tom Becker, Justice Veasey was quoted as saying, "If directors claim to be independent by saying, for example, that they base decisions on some performance measure and don't do so, or if they are disingenuous or dishonest about it, it seems to me that the courts in some circumstances could treat their behavior as a breach of the fiduciary duty of good faith" and that he "would urge boards of directors to demonstrate their independence, hold executive sessions and follow governance procedures sincerely and effectively, not only as a guard against the intrusion of the federal government but as a guard against anything that might happen to them in court from a properly presented complaint." Becker, which called Justice Veasey's comments "a warning shot for those who set executive pay packages," noted that "experts" said the comments were a "departure from the court's traditional take," and "extremely significant" in signaling that the Delaware courts may review compensation and the independence of boards from CEOs.

County Council at 13

Unless this General Assembly changes the Delaware Code, New Castle County Council will expand from seven to thirteen members in 2004. Currently there are six councilmanic districts and the President of Council is elected in presidential-election years. Each existing council district will be split into two districts. This reapportionment must be completed on or before January 1, 2004. Existing members of Council elected in 2002 continue their terms until the 2006 general election. In 2004, six additional members will be elected from the newly-created districts and serve until the 2008 general election. To run for Council, a candidate need only be at least 24 years old and have lived in the district for one year prior to the election. New Castle County Office of Finance has estimated that the startup costs (offices and equipment) for the Council expansion will be between $1.25 and $1.4 million and that the annual operations cost will be $700,000. A one-percent property tax increase produces $650,000.

When the General Assembly made this change to the Code, it also decided that members of Council could not be trusted to behave properly following an election, so the lame-duck period for New Castle County Council (but not the General Assembly) was abolished, and members take office on the first Wednesday in November following the general election.

Currently, multiple civic activists are positioning themselves to run for Council in 2004 when there will be at least six open seats. The change on Council is expected to be profound.

Wilmapco Regional Transportation Plan 2005

After several years in preparation, the Final Draft of the WILMAPCO Regional Transportation Plan 2025 (RTP 2025) is available for pubic review. The thirty-day comment period, from February 3 to March 5, 2003, includes Public Meetings on February 4th in Elkton, MD, February 10th in Newark, DE, and February 12th in Wilmington, DE. The Committee of 100 had significant input into the long-range transportation plan in its early stages and encouraged WILMAPCO to recognize, in its plan, the federal goal of supporting economic development. This final draft summarizes three general goals: to improve quality of life; to transport people and goods, and to support economic activity and growth.