Proposed Clean-Water Tax Would Affect all Sussex Residents

Sussex County officials are keeping a watchful eye on a proposed bill in the General Assembly that would directly impact the pocketbook of every county resident.

Included in the Clean Water for Delaware Act is a clean-water fee based on assessed property value with no exemptions for farmers, businesses, government or even nonprofit agencies. The proposed fee would be assessed on local property tax bills and would be collected by the county.

Sussex County homeowners would pay a minimum of $45 per year into the Clean Water Trust Fund, with a maximum tax of $85 per year, based on 1974 assessments.

Sussex County Finance Director Gina Jennings, a member of the Clean Water and Flood Abatement Task Force, said the tax would generate $8 million from the county and $30 million a year statewide.

Proposed taxes for Clean Water Trust Fund

Single-family homes, including duplexes and townhomes: .2071 per $100 assessed 1974 value with a minimum of $45 and maximum of $85. The average Sussex homeowner pays less than $110 a year in county property taxes.

Farmland: 50 percent of .2071 per $100 assessed 1974 value with a maximum of $25,000.

Nonprofits, government and municipal buildings: 50 percent of .2071 per $100 assessed 1974 value with a maximum of $12,500.

Commercial, apartments, industrial parcels: 50 percent of .2071 per $100 assessed 1974 value with a maximum of $25,000.