Dave Del Grama, chief financial officer for New Castle County, told the Administrative Finance Committee on Oct. 14 that the county's reserves are shrinking and could fall into a significant negative position by 2028 unless revenues or assumptions change. "We began at $72,200,000," Del Grama said of the county's tax-stabilization reserve, and later said the reserve could be a negative "$63,200,000" in 2028 if no revenue adjustments are made.

The presentation covered the general fund and sewer fund. Del Grama reported total revenues for 2025 of about $249,400,000 (including some use of reserves) and unaudited total expenditures for 2025 of about $252,800,000. "When you add all those things up," he said, "our revenues fall under our expenses by $3,400,000 in '25." He said projected expenditures rise in the near term, driving larger shortfalls in the out years unless assumptions change.

Why it matters: the CFO flagged multiple consequences of shrinking reserves, including pressure on the county's ability to meet best-practice reserve targets and potential impacts on bond ratings and borrowing costs. Del Grama said best practice would be roughly five months of operating reserves, which he estimated at about $106,000,000 for the general fund. By his projection, the county's total general fund reserves would fall to about $17,300,000 in an out-year scenario he presented.

Del Grama also reviewed the sewer fund. He reported sewer reserves of roughly $33,800,000 at the end of 2025 and said they were projected to decline to about $11,000,000 by 2028 under the same baseline assumptions. He said those projections assume no sewer-rate increases and keep the residential customer charge at $50 in the out years, despite authority to raise it to $100.

Committee members asked questions about the practical effects and near-term timing. Councilman George Smiley, cochair of the committee, and other members pressed for more detail on collections. Council members asked whether supplemental tax bills would be mailed in time; Del Grama said he could not provide a firm timeline because litigation is ongoing. "At this time, due to litigation, I really can't give you a clean answer," Del Grama said.

Councilman Carter asked whether reduced cash balances would cut interest earnings the county typically posts to the general fund. Del Grama said lower cash flow will reduce interest earnings, and that the county had assumed some revenue losses when preparing the budget; he said the county had modeled the loss of appeals revenue but could not yet quantify all deltas.

Del Grama described specific components used in the 2026 budget balancing: he said the draft used $24,200,000 from the tax-stabilization reserve and $12,000,000 from an RTT reserve to reach a projected revenue figure for 2026. He also cited one-time additions included in the expense side for 2026, including a $3,000,000 fire-service grant and a roughly $105,000 camera-refresh project.

Committee members requested follow-up materials. Del Grama said he would provide the percentage of taxes received so far this year and additional detail on collections and the specific line items behind the variances he presented.

The committee took no formal fiscal action at the meeting; the presentation was informational and was followed by questions and requests for additional information.