477%
Average increase in residential assessments. Big commercial properties, including Amazon’s warehouse and JPMorgan’s Wilmington headquarters, went down. (County’s own figures.)
New Castle County · November 3, 2026
Someone has to watch the books.
This May the county raised property taxes 17 percent and sewer rates 5 percent in the same budget. That landed on top of a reassessment that doubled some bills. Back in 2022 I said we needed an independent watchdog over county money, before any of this happened. I’m running again, and this time I’ve got the plan on paper.
The county’s books
2025 to 2026
2×
Some homeowners’ bills simply doubled after the first reassessment in more than forty years.
$42M
The budget hole, created by paying for permanent, every year costs with one time federal money.
17%
Property tax increase passed May 26, 2026. First county hike in eight years.
5%
Sewer rate increase in that same budget. Also the first since 2019.
11 to 2
The vote that passed it. Only two members of council said no.
Who was watching the money? That’s the job I’m running for.
It’s not about party. It’s about New Castle County.
We don’t have Republican taxpayers and Democratic taxpayers here. We have taxpayers. We don’t have Republican parks and Democratic paramedics. We have ours, and they answer to all of us.
However you vote for governor or for Congress, a council that votes eleven to two deserves one independent set of eyes on the money. You don’t have to change parties to want that. You just have to open your tax bill.
What I’ll do
Four commitments
Hold the line on spending.
I said that in 2022 and I have not changed my mind. It starts with the first comprehensive, independent, public performance audit of county government in years. Every department, every contract, every dollar, with the findings published where residents can actually read them. See the full plan.
Grow smarter, not bigger.
We have empty storefronts and half used shopping centers all over this county. Fix those first, before we pave another field. Responsible growth should make housing more affordable, not less, and it should respect the neighborhoods that are already here.
Services you can count on.
Paramedic response times, county police, parks, libraries, sewers and stormwater. You’re paying 17 percent more. Your services should show it.
Make every acre earn its keep.
The county owns thousands of acres and mows a great deal of it at your expense. The Delaware Heritage Landscapes Initiative turns selected roadsides and stormwater basins into native meadows. Lower maintenance bills, habitat for monarchs and honeybees, and public land that finally gives something back. Read the proposal.
Three questions before spending your money
- Will it work?
- Do we need it?
- Can we afford it?
If the answer to any one of them is no, we think twice before spending a dollar that belongs to somebody else.
“We don’t strengthen communities by putting up bigger barriers. We strengthen them by building better opportunities. I want to fix what we already have first.” Jamie Collins
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