Governor John Carney released his recommended budget, the Joint Finance Committee and General Assembly will work on the best final version between now and June 30th.
As always, we strive to get breaking news to you. So here are the latest 2018 Delaware State Budget resources you can use to be in the know.
We will be examining this recommendation over the next couple of days and will keep you updated.
“Our greatest concern is how these cuts will impact services to Delawareans, recognizing how strained the system has been by flat or decreasing funding that the sector has experienced for many years” – Sheila Bravo, DANA’s CEO
DANA has been working on the financial challenges that face our Nonprofit Sector, meeting with our elected officials, engaging with Governor Carney and his transition team to present the Nonprofit Sector’s perspective, and planning action now that the budget course is more clear. The Delaware Revenue Solutions Coalition (DRSC) “LOGO Letter” initiative led by DANA along with Delaware Grantmakers Association, Delaware Community Foundation, United Way of Delaware, Ability Network of DE, the UD-CCRS, and AFP-Brandywine. We’ll update the LOGO Letter based on today’s budget release. This letter serves as the Nonprofit Sector’s call to action that we can all organize around, The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) Mark Up of the Budget and GIA is scheduled for May 22-31. The DANA Annual Conference with Gov. Carney as Keynote is May 15th, and Delaware’s Nonprofit Day is June 8th at The Mall Legislative Hall from 11am-1pm.
Key Dates:
May 15: DANA Annual Conference with Governor Carney, U.S. Delegation and Cabinet Secretaries Invited
June 8: Delaware’s Nonprofit Day at The Mall Legislative Hall Dover 11AM-1PM
Quick Analysis:
The proposed Delaware State Budget presented Today at the Archives Building in Dover, proposes to balance the $386.6 Million budget gap through $192.8 Million in new revenue (described in the budget presentation linked below page 14). This leaves $193.8 Million to come through cuts. 4.5% total reduction to “state agency discretionary funds” (see page 9 of budget presentation). Grant-In-Aid (GIA) cuts of $5.19 Million (an 11% cut – Total GIA FY2017 $45.89 Mill.). Pass Through cuts of $594,300.00 or 10% to all pass throughs in the operating budget, and reallocation of $3.695 Million to GIA from the operating budget. This means the cut to GIA will be greater than 11%.
In Governor Carney’s words: “During my listening tour and morning coffee public sessions I heard that Delawareans were willing to have Revenue Increases as long as they were responsible and balanced with Spending Reductions. Along with the proposals here today for FY2018’s Budget, the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Board (GEAR) held its first meeting and will work to achieve efficiencies in future years”. “This balanced plan takes key steps toward structurally resolving the budget deficit not only for Fiscal Year 2018, but also by better positioning Delaware for the future,” said Governor Carney
To close a $386.6 Million shortfall and put the state on a path to sustainable budgets in the long-term, the proposal includes some increases in personal income tax (PIT) by eliminating itemized deductions and increasing the standard deduction 54% along with a couple of additional changes (we are exploring these details to better understand how this will affect nonprofits) including raising top PIT tax bracket by 0.2%. In addition, the Governor recommends an adjustment to the corporate franchise tax, and an increase in the cigarette tax of $1/pack. Details can be found in the administration’s budget presentation and total a $192.8 Million increase for the coming fiscal year 2018.
Get the Governor’s 2018 Budget Presentation HERE.
More detail: http://budget.delaware.gov/budget/fy2018/documents/budget-reset-summary.pdf
Watch it live here: http://governor.delaware.gov/budgetreset/
Know that DANA will be working on digesting this and engaging our Alliance…YOU!