Delaware progressives, Democratic leaders square off over plans to address high tax bills in upcoming session

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Delaware lawmakers are set to meet Tuesday in special session to address sky-high property tax bills for residents following the first property value reassessment in decades. But Democratic House progressives and top leaders are battling over which ideas will dominate on the floor that day.

Progressive members of the Delaware House, led by Newark Democrat Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, held a news conference Friday to highlight bills they are sponsoring for the special session. However, the House released its agenda for Tuesday late on Friday without those bills listed for consideration. State senators have yet to release any proposals in that chamber.

Much of the tax burden in New Castle County has fallen on homeowners while many commercial properties saw decreases. Frustrated residents have taken to social media, attended city and county council meetings and contacted their state representatives to voice their anger over new valuations that may have risen hundreds of dollars or more.

More than a dozen bills on dealing with the property assessment turmoil have been filed by state representatives. The special session is currently expected to last one day.

The exclusion of the fellow Democrats’ legislation may suggest the widening of a rift between more House leaders and the more liberal wing that’s been brewing for several months or more.

Wilson-Anton complained Friday that top House members have acted as a roadblock to implementing more progressive legislation and did not communicate with Democratic lawmakers affiliated with the Working Families Party.

“I think the ball is 100% in leadership’s court,” she said. “I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince someone that my ideas are valid and worth conversation and deliberation.”

House Speaker Melissa “Mimi” Minor-Brown in response touted the progressive legislation passed earlier this year under her leadership.

“Dying with dignity, look how long it took to get that bill done,” Minor-Brown said. “Constitutional amendment to the death penalty. We could not get that done. I, as speaker, made sure that we got that bill across the finish line.”

Audit of Tyler Technologies’ work

Wilmington City Councilmember Christian Willauer said she is calling for an audit of how Tyler Technologies, a third-party contractor, valued residential and nonresidential properties. New Castle County Councilmembers David Tackett and Brandon Toole have also proposed an audit of Tyler’s work.

The company used two different methods for evaluating residential and nonresidential properties. It determined the values for residential properties based on sales comparison data and the physical inspection of buildings and land, which is a requirement set forth in the Delaware Constitution. Tyler used income information for commercial, utilities and industrial facilities.

Willauer said she also wants a one-year delay in the implementation of Tyler Technology’s new assessment numbers. She said many of the company’s valuations are wrong. She pointed to several commercial properties she said are undervalued, including some large corporations.

“It’s not fair for billionaire corporations like Amazon to get big tax cuts and ask regular people to pay more,” she said. “It’s been 40 years since the last reassessment, so errors are expected, but Delaware’s homeowners and public schools shouldn’t have to suffer because of this.”

Amazon saw its overall tax bill plummet from about $3.5 million last year to about $1 million this year, a $2.5 million decrease.

Tyler officials have told WHYY News the company has not received a request to participate in an audit. They defended the methodology for commercial properties, saying it used industry best practices, such as the sales comparison and income approaches, to ensure commercial land is valued fairly and consistently.

House leadership endorsed bills

Measures Minor-Brown and top House Democrats say they intend to consider Tuesday include:

• House Bill 242 would allow school districts to set different tax rates for residential and commercial properties.
• House Bill 240 would allow residents who successfully appeal their property values to be eligible for direct cash refunds.
• House Bill 241 would require that residents be offered a payment plan during the first tax year following a general reassessment if their tax bill increases by $300 or more.

School district taxes

School taxes make up the majority of county tax bills. Several districts have been criticized for taking advantage of state law which allows them to exact a 10% increase in revenue after property reassessments. Some of the districts that raised additional revenue of between 1% and 10% include Red Clay, Christina, Appoquinimink and Indian River.

Doug Manley, a Christina School Board member, said the district supports the legislation that would allow a bifurcated rate for commercial and residential properties. Christina’s district includes most of downtown Wilmington.

State Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, is pushing legislation that would eliminate the ability of school districts to take that additional 10% of revenue after reassessments. Milford Republican Rep. Bryan Shupe’s bill would limit the 10% increase in school property tax revenue to 2% per year for five years after a reassessment.

The Delaware State Education Association, the union that represents the state’s public school teachers, came out against both bills Friday, saying that some lawmakers were using this opportunity to place the blame on the state’s under-funded public school system.

“Retroactively eliminating the 10% funding enhancement will cause immediate harm to Delaware students,” the teachers’ union statement said, adding that it would result “in immediate job cuts, devastating program cuts to sports and arts programs, and cuts to planned improvements to school technology programs and curricula updates.”

Smith responded to the union’s criticism in a text message to WHYY News.

“I wish DSEA was focused on student behavior, student outcomes, supporting the holistic health of our teachers and supporting more money into our classrooms by leading funding reform from the front for the last 80+ years,” he wrote.

Progressive legislation

State Rep. Larry Lambert, D-Claymont, said the bills put forward by progressives complement the ones on the House agenda.

Lambert said he also supported helping at-risk residents from losing their homes.

“Our seniors are more than concerned. They are scared,” he said. “That chronic stress, of wondering, of being afraid, is something that we need to address.”

That legislation includes the following bills:

• House Bill 247 would mandate New Castle County offer payment plans to all taxpayers for county property and school taxes assessed to residential properties for the 2025-2026 tax year.
• House Bill 248 would allow all three counties to accept tax payments on a quarterly or monthly basis.
• House Bill 249 would require counties to void all tax bills already issued to taxpayers in the county for the 2025-2026 tax year and to reissue property and school tax bills for the 2025-2026 tax year using the previously assessed value.
• House Resolution 18 requests that counties study the feasibility of property tax freezes for seniors.
• House Concurrent Resolution 78 would require the Public Education Funding Commission to submit a report with recommendations to achieve the equitable collection and distribution of property tax revenue for public schools.

House Joint Resolution 8 directs the director of the Office of State Planning Coordination, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of Finance, the Controller General, the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of the Department of Technology and Information to provide lawmakers with recommendations on how to conduct future property tax reassessments.

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.