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Votes at a glance: Sussex County Council approves agenda, consent items, Highmark stop‑loss renewal and expanded Dewey Beach MOU
Summary
The council approved the meeting agenda and minutes, a consent agenda (including a Fair Housing proclamation and a wastewater infrastructure agreement), renewed stop‑loss insurance with Highmark, and approved an increased MOU contribution for Dewey Beach EMS co‑location.
The Sussex County Council took several routine and contract actions on April 8, approving the meeting agenda and minutes, a consent agenda with a proclamation and a wastewater infrastructure agreement, renewing stop‑loss insurance coverage for county employee health benefits, and increasing a memorandum of understanding with Dewey Beach for co‑located EMS facilities.
Agenda and minutes The council unanimously approved the meeting agenda and the minutes of the March 25 meeting. No amendments were recorded during the meeting.
Consent agenda (approved) - Proclamation: the council approved a proclamation recognizing Fair Housing Month and a related county proclamation and presentations were made to local organizations; the proclamation text endorses April 2025 as Fair Housing Month and marks a year‑long commemoration of the US Fair Housing Act’s anniversary. (Approved by vote.) - Use of existing wastewater infrastructure agreement (UA 1246 at Heritage Shores, Phase 7A): the council approved use of existing wastewater infrastructure for the Heritage Shores Phase 7A project. (Approved by vote.)
Highmark stop‑loss insurance renewal (contract renewal; approved) The council voted to renew a one‑year stop‑loss contract with Highmark, maintaining a specific deductible of $295,000 per claim and an aggregate specific deductible described in the packet. The motion as read into the record specified monthly stop‑loss rates of $36.88 for single coverage and $105.34 for family coverage, effective May 1, 2025, for a one‑year period. The motion carried with recorded affirmative votes by Council members Mister McCarron, Mister Lloyd, Miss Gruenbaum, Mister Reilly and the council president.
Dewey Beach memorandum of understanding (MOU) for co‑located EMS (approved) County staff recommended increasing Sussex County’s contribution to the town of Dewey Beach’s new town hall and police department project to support a co‑located county EMS station. The county recommended increasing its contribution from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, funded from the county’s RTT (room, tax, tourism) fund; in return, the lease term for EMS space will be extended to 30 years and additional lease considerations will be added. The council approved the updated MOU by unanimous vote; the motion passed with recorded affirmative votes by Mister McCarron, Mister Lloyd, Miss Gruenbaum, Mister Reilly and the council president.
Roll call language and vote counts reflect the meeting record as read aloud during the session. Where the transcript contained inconsistent numeric text in the motion readback, the article reflects the county staff recommendation and the motion passed as recorded by the clerk.
Ending: The council’s votes included routine approvals and two contract‑level decisions that staff said will be implemented as specified in the meeting packet; the council did not take further budget votes related to these items at the meeting.
