The Committee of 100 | Meeting Notes

It's been a roller-coaster ride. When Tom Gordon became New Castle County Executive, he pledged to clean up County Government, revamp the land-use process, and make all of its processes more efficient. The former NCC Police Chief, with his former NCC Police Chief CAO at his side, blew into the government offices like a tornado and everything was blown around.

Armed with an outside study which showed that without major changes, the County would soon be $100 million in debt, the County structure was reorganized and jobs changed. The heretofore untouchable unions agreed that County employees would all start working full days and could be moved around to meet the changing work world in exchange for job security and respect. Productivity soared as did moral, for those who stayed. It was County employees who renovated office space and spruced up parks, showing what they could really do.

Then came the Unified Development Code (UDC), a document that changed everything about land-use planning. Promising a process that would be so efficient, “You'll love it,” the County Executive delivered a new Code and proactively rezoned all land in the County.

In addition, new libraries were built and existing libraries renovated; new parkland was purchased and existing parks were upgraded; a new Government Center was bought and existing facilities restored; a new Southern NCC Sewer System was announced and existing antiquated sewers were slated for repair. All with no property tax increase.

But, of course, it's not been that rosy. The transition to the UDC was tough on everyone, has required numerous revisions, and has made the process more complicated, not less. While the County receives kudos for the toughest environmental and land-use restrictions in the nation, civic leaders still complain, and development has gone elsewhere, often into annexing municipalities.

Tom Gordon will review his tenure and tell us what's in store for his remaining time as County Executive.