One of the many contributions of Governor DuPont’s administration was the establishment of the Delaware Economic Advisory Council (DEFAC) which brought together cabinet officials relevant to the budget, law makers and private sector leaders in a way that increased the transparency of the state’s revenue and expense budgeting process. In the late 70s, the state was in horrible economic shape when Governor DuPont brought DEFAC to life via Executive Order. It has continued to positively impact Delaware’s process for decades with its analysis of its economic standing. A week ago, DEFAC provided its last revenue and expense projections prior to the General Assembly submitting its three FY 2023 budgets for a vote in June.

Although some revenue projections have cooled slightly, the fiscal outlook for Delaware’s FY 2023 budget is remarkable as a streak of increasing revenue projections continue. Lot’s of people have asked me where the money is coming from. Is it all federal stimulus money? The answer is no, its from three main revenue streams. Personal Income Tax (PIT) which is our largest source of revenue, corporate franchise tax, and real estate transfer tax are all significantly up. DEFAC is, however, anticipating slower returns from these areas in the coming years.

May’s DEFAC meeting projects a surplus of $815.7 million and a spending authority of $6.84 billion for FY 2023. Governor Carney proposed a $4.9 billion budget with $200 million in one-time supplemental funding projects in January. Governor Carney’s budget policy continues to stress the value of putting extraordinary revenues into capital and one-time expenses. The Governor’s budget is prepared by the Office of Management and Budget which is led by Budget Director Cerron Cade. Although the legislation that comprises the final budgets are developed by the Joint Finance Committee and the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, OMB, under Director Cade’s guidance, is an integral part of the process.

On June 9^th, Director Cade will be DCA’s first Policy Builder Breakfast speaker post-covid. Bring all your First State finance questions. Director Cade can bring us up to date on the state’s budgets and the outlook for the many capital projects coming down the road. If you have not already signed up for the Policy Builder Breakfast, please contact Marla at mdisalvo@e-dca.org to let her know you will be joining us for this important session.