Sussex County Council gave its stamp of approval to a FY 2018 Tuesday.
Council voted 4-0 to pass the $143 million spending plan with Councilman Rob Arlett absent.
There are no increases in property tax or sewer fees in the budget. That’s despite growing expenditures, including an increase of nearly $700,000 to pay for 22 state troopers assigned to the county.
Those additional public safety costs will be paid using county reserves. The county's pension plan will also be shored up using reserves.
The county is also raising marriage fees and plan reviews fees, while cutting a first time homebuyer credit.
The 2018 budget also includes $1 million for a pilot project to install fiber optic cabling to expand high-speed Internet to rural parts of Sussex. It also calls for more than $8 million in capital funding to begin phased upgrades to increase capacity at the County’s South Coastal, Inland Bays, and Wolfe Neck regional wastewater facilities.
The budget goes into effect July 1.
