Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings happening this week.
Read below to learn how to participate in some of the most important or interesting public meetings happening in Delaware this week.
- Delaware Democrats push absentee voting amendment
- State Senate to revisit an announced prison closure
- Dover to hold a hearing about the ousting of its city manager
- New Castle County Council to discuss its budget
- Sussex County to consider new development; opioid dollars
Delaware Dems push absentee voting amendment
After a two-week break, Delaware lawmakers will reconvene this week for hearings that are certain to incorporate plenty of politics into policy discussions.
The full State Senate will meet Tuesday afternoon to consider an amendment to the Delaware Constitution that would enshrine an “absolute right to vote by absentee ballot without an excuse.”
Senate Bill 3 is the first leg of a two-pronged approval process needed to change the Delaware Constitution. The text of the legislation — which State Sen. Darius Brown (D-Wilmington) introduced a year ago — states that it is a direct response to a Delaware Supreme Court decision in 2022 that struck down the widespread use of absentee voting in the state.
This weighing of bill this week also follows comments from President Donald Trump last summer in which he promised an executive order that would stop absentee, or mail-in, voting.
Last month, Trump signed an order that directs the U.S. Postal Service to only send mail-in ballots to voters on what would be a newly created federal list of approved absentee voters.
In the weeks since, several lawsuits have been filed challenging the order.
📍 The full Delaware Senate is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. As of Sunday, the only item on the agenda is Brown’s legislation. To watch the meeting online, click here.
Delaware lawmakers in various committees and on the floor of the House of Representatives will also consider dozens of additional bills this week.
Among those are legislation that would:
- Require Delaware officials to publicly report lead poisoning data
- To use in-state labor unions when building schools
- To increase certain fees imposed on Delaware-registered businesses
- To regulate a part of the disruptive cryptocurrency industry
- To expand state regulations over wetlands.
To view details of all hearings, scroll through the “What’s Happening” box here.
Senate to revisit an announced prison closure
Aside from legislation, lawmakers in the Senate Corrections and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday will discuss the closure of the Plummer work-release center in Wilmington.
Last September, the Delaware Department of Correction announced that the Plummer Center would shut down in March.
The decision sparked pushback from former inmates, politicians, and prisoner advocates who told Spotlight Delaware that the closure would cause incarcerated people to be forced to live farther from their jobs, families, and support systems as they seek to transition back into society.
During the hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers are scheduled to hear testimony from Department of Correction Commissioner Terra Taylor, as well as several prisoner advocates.
📍 The Senate Corrections and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. Click here for more information, including about registering to participate in the meeting virtually.
Will the drama in Dover continue?
During a meeting Monday, the Dover City Council is scheduled to consider a request for a formal hearing from its city manager, Dave Hugg, to discuss his ouster from the position.
Last month, Dover City Council members quietly voted to place Hugg on administrative leave – the first step toward permanently removing him from the position. At the time, council members stated only that they were voting to “accept the recommendation of the city solicitor on the personnel matter.”
Spotlight Delaware later learned the matter was related to Hugg and his tension with the council over how and when he brought certain issues to their attention. Two city officials specifically pointed to what they described as Hugg’s failure to promptly inform the council about complaints received about the People’s Church homeless shelter.
According to Dover’s city charter, a city manager must be given a public hearing and a “written statement of the reasons alleged for their removal” before the city council can take a final vote on removing them.
Anthony Delcollo, a lawyer representing Hugg, said a public hearing is exactly what the city manager wants.
“As Mr. Hugg was not provided any information regarding purported wrongdoing or performance issues prior to being advised that the City felt it was time to move on from his employment, our client looks forward to the opportunity to present his position in this hearing,” Delcollo said.
Hugg has served as Dover’s city manager since early 2022. He first joined the city on a contracted basis in 2017, and ended up staying on with the city and rising to the role of city manager over the next five years.
📍 The Dover City Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday inside Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 15 Loockerman Plaza in Dover. Click here for information about attending virtually.
New Castle County to hold a budget hearing
Last month, New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry proposed a 17% property tax hike – a major increase that officials said would only partially close a $42 million budget deficit.
On Tuesday afternoon, the New Castle County Council will hold a budget hearing to discuss revenue, debt service, and capital spending.
During a meeting later in the evening, the council will introduce ordinances to pass a county budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in July.
📍 The New Castle County Council Budget Hearing Meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Louis L. Redding City County Building, located at 800 N. French St. in Wilmington. For more information, including about virtual attendance, click here.
More homes on Sussex farmland?
On the agenda for the Sussex County Council’s meeting this week is a proposal to change the zoning of 84 acres of farmland between Fenwick Island and Selbyville to allow for a residential development with 210 homes.
CoastTV reported last year about pushback the proposal has attracted from neighbors who expressed fear the housing development would prevent them from using their land for hunting.
Also scheduled for this week’s council meeting are remarks from County Administrator Todd Lawson about an application to the state for dollars from Delaware’s opioid settlement fund.
In February, council members Steve McCarron and John Rieley told the Cape Gazette they would like a portion of the money to fund ambulance services.
📍 The Sussex County Council will hold its weekly meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Sussex County Administrative Office Building, located at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. For more information, including about virtual attendance, click here.
