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 that are happening this week.
Below you will find information about the most important or interesting public meetings happening in Delaware this week.
- Hospital cost review board to discuss charity care
- State opioid commission to review grants for approval
- Wilmington to host an early season budget town hall
- Sussex County to consider a slate of new solar fields
- Harrington to discuss a data center ban
Will hospitals become more charitable?
Delaware’s controversial hospital oversight board will meet Tuesday morning to discuss a new law that goes into effect early next year, compelling hospitals to widen the net of patients eligible for free or discounted care.
The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board is set to discuss regulations that will guide how hospitals will be held accountable for the new codified standards in the years to come. The law requires hospitals to expand eligibility for free and discounted care, usually called charity care.
In order to qualify for their tax-exempt nonprofit status, hospitals must offer a “community benefit,” according to the IRS. Historically, that benefit has been charity care.
Earlier this month, financial leaders from Delaware’s hospital systems flooded a small government meeting room to voice concerns with the drafted regulations.
The regulations are also being crafted with input from the state’s hospital lobbying group, the Delaware Healthcare Association, which expressed support for the legislation but asked state leaders to target other healthcare sectors that also earn money from patients, such as insurers and pharmaceutical companies.
📍 The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board is set to meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Herman M. Holloway Sr. Campus – DHSS Chapel, located at 1901 N. Dupont Highway in New Castle. More information, including about virtual attendance, can be found here.
State to approve new opioid dollars
The Delaware commission charged with appropriating dollars secured from state settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors will meet Monday to review grant applications submitted by local governments and nonprofits.
The meeting comes a year after lawmakers reformed how the commission grants dollars to organizations. Those reforms followed reports of mismanagement and potential fraud within the program that emerged the previous year.
The Delaware Opioid Settlement Commission is expected to receive $250 million from opioid settlements through 2038.
Spotlight Delaware previously reported that Delaware has the only state government that directly distributes money from opioid settlements to various organizations, rather than leaving it up to counties, cities, and towns.
📍 The Delaware Opioid Settlement Commission will meet Monday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Springer Building, located at 203 Mitchell Lane, in New Castle. For information about virtual attendance and other meeting details, click here.
Wilmington to get a head start on its budget
The Wilmington City Council on Tuesday will host its first budget town hall as part of an early start to next year’s budget negotiations.
Last week, the council announced plans to hold four town halls covering the city’s eight districts, giving residents an opportunity to learn about the budget process, discuss financial priorities or concerns and raise questions.
The town halls come after a budget season earlier this year that was marked by debate between the mayor and City Council over how to address housing needs in the city. The city did not hold similar public meetings early in the process last year.
📍 Wilmington’s first-of-four budget town halls is scheduled for Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the NOMA Library, located at 3905 N. Market St. in Wilmington. For more information, click here.
Solar fields in Sussex County
The Sussex County Council on Tuesday will consider plans for four solar fields – two in Seaford, one in Laurel and one in Delmar. Together they would cover almost 170 acres of farmland, equal to over 100 football fields.
They would also have the capacity to produce 11 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 9,000 homes.
The proposals come as Gov. Matt Meyer has encouraged solar development as a way to produce more power in the state.
Earlier this year, he fast-tracked permits for some solar projects. He also signed a bill that guarantees power bill discounts for those who sign up for community solar projects.
At the same time, some residents feel the arrays are covering too much farmland and could harm local ecosystems.
The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval for all the proposals.
📍 The Sussex County Council will meet Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Sussex County Administrative Office Building, located at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. The public hearings for the solar projects will begin at 1:30 p.m. For additional details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Harrington considers data center ban
Harrington on Monday will do a first reading of an ordinance that would ban any data center projects within its borders.
The city council recently rejected a proposal to build a data center on the site of a former cold storage warehouse. Residents packed into the meeting room for the vote, overwhelmingly in opposition to the plan.
That opposition came despite the developer behind the proposal offering the city of about 4,000 people contributions totaling $1 million.
The council will hold its official hearing for the ordinance at a later date, but Monday’s meeting will be the first time the ordinance will be publicly discussed.
📍 Harrington City Council will meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Harrington Public Library, located at 101 Little Mastens Corner Road. There does not appear to be a virtual option for attending the meeting. For additional information, click here.
Delaware port board intervening in lawsuit
The state board charged with overseeing the Port of Wilmington will meet Monday to discuss several items related to the politically resonant facility, including litigation challenging its expansion in Edgemoor.
On the agenda for the meeting is the reading onto the record of the board’s authorization “to intervene in litigation.”
The resolution pertains to a federal lawsuit filed by the Holt family — owners of competing port facilities in Philadelphia and New Jersey — that challenges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits to Delaware for construction of a $669 million container terminal at Edgemoor.
Last month, the Holts lost a parallel lawsuit in Delaware court challenging state permits needed by the facility.
📍 The Diamond State Port Corporation board of directors is scheduled to meet Monday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the state’s Buena Vista building, located at 661 S. DuPont Highway, near New Castle. For details about virtual attendance, click here.
