Sussex County dispersing $12M in unexpected revenue into land conservation, municipalities

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – With more than $12 million in unexpected revenue, Sussex County is trying to spread the wealth. Tuesday, Sussex County Council approved a measure to use the funds for land preservation, and a one-time revenue sharing program for local municipalities.

The extra money came from increased property sales over the last eight months. “Since we’ve gotten the additional realty transfer tax money coming in, we have decided to share it with the municipalities in the county,” said Sussex County Finance Director Gina Jennings. “It is based off of an allocation, where we looked at the populations and budgets of those towns, and allocated among those towns so that they can use it for any other realty transfer tax eligible expenditures.”

About $5.6 million of the funding will be used for land purchases by the county in the current fiscal year. The rest will be broken up into grants ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. Those grants will be distributed to towns in Sussex County. Municipalities that receive more than $100,000 will have to match the county grant dollar-for-dollar. They are also required to use the funds within the next year.

Jennings says how the money will be used is up to the respective municipalities. Eligible projects include public safety, economic development, infrastructure, and capital projects. “It really is to be used for long-term goals and making the county stronger going forward. So, just like Open Space, it will really help the county preserve land. It will also help with the towns and building their infrastructure. They can use it for their roads, their sewer, the water,” said Jennings.