278.6 million dollar budget for Sussex’s County fiscal year of 2024

Sussex County Council approved a 278.6 million dollar budget for fiscal year 2024, which starts on July 1st. Part of the budget will go to a wealth of local services, including paramedics and 911 dispatchers, as more people travel to Delaware and traffic builds up.

Dewey Beach Town Commissioner said, “Response time is everything, if you can respond quicker and get things stabilized then it can help everyone out.”

Sussex county medic stations are set to get major funding to the tune of 2.3 million dollars, according to Finance Director Gina Jennings.

“So we are looking to expand in the Milton area, the Ellendale area, Millsboro and Dewey beach.”

The lease at the Millsboro location is set to end soon. Jennings says the county has already purchased land nearby to establish the first satellite paramedic station in that area.

“Some of the stations we currently rent we want to get out of those leases because we are obviously here to stay and help the residents,” Jennings said. “We are looking to build the stations to help with sustainability.”

Currently in Milton, Jennings says the county is running the paramedic station out of the cheer center.

“We are looking to actually build a standalone station to where we can expand to in Milton.”

Dewey beach is another location where the County is looking to expand emergency medical services.

“Dewey Beach during the summertime we have medics in the station there in Dewey, the town hall and police station,” Jennings said. “So we are also looking at expanding that partnership as well.”

A new location could help EMS workers even more, potentially saving more lives.

“Dewey Beach in the summer months of June, July, August and even September is very difficult to get up and down the roads because of all the traffic congestion,” Bauer said. “You see ambulances going up and down and cars going to the sides and there is just not a whole lot of room.”