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Delaware governor plans to cap growth in next state budget

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Delaware governor plans to cap growth in next state budget


What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer is promising to constrain spending growth in the next state budget to less than 5%.

Meyer announced his intention to cap spending in Thursday’s State of the State speech in front of a joint session of the General Assembly in Dover. In his remarks, he highlighted several other priorities for this legislative session that focused on affordability and government efficiency.

“Over the past year, we have faced challenges, tragedy and unprecedented uncertainty, but I am here to report to you that despite this, the state of our state is strong,” he said.

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State budget growth has risen year-over-year

The General Assembly’s 2026 budget was about $6.5 billion, a 7.3% increase from the prior year. That operating budget for fiscal year 2025 totaled $6.1 billion, which was a 9.3% increase from the previous year’s budget.

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Meyer said he will give more details about how he plans to reduce the growth of spending in his budget speech on Jan. 29.

“Of course, that’s only one side of the ledger,” he said. “You’re going to also hear about the revenue side next week. You’re going to see a smaller gap between revenues the state’s taking in and expenditures and our projected budget than you’ve seen in years.”

Republican House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman, who represents Clayton, said he welcomed Meyer’s pledge to hold back on spending growth, something he and other Republican lawmakers have complained about for years.

“We’ve been calling for that for 14 years,” he said. “Just in the last six years, we’ve grown 50%. So for him to keep budgetary growth under 5% — I mean, that’s still above inflation — but that would be great.”

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The governor did not mention any efforts to reform the state’s personal income tax brackets, which he made a priority last year. State lawmakers did not take action on that.

Under the state’s current income tax system, Delawareans making more than $60,000 a year pay a 6.6% tax rate on earnings above $60,000, which is the state’s top rate. Meyer proposed last year making the new brackets with increased tax rates for income over $125,000, $250,000 and $500,000. However, he struggled to get buy-in from key legislators, including House Speaker Melissa “Mimi” Brown.

The governor said after the speech that he still supports changing personal income tax brackets.

State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, said she was disappointed he didn’t highlight the issue in his speech.

“He did talk about the corporate franchise, which is a big part of our revenue stream, but income tax bracket reform is long overdue, and there was a lot of drama about that last year, so interesting that that wasn’t mentioned today,” she said.

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Delaware

Local police departments earn state accreditation

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Local police departments earn state accreditation


The Delaware Police Officer Standards and Training Commission recently announced that the Dewey Beach Police Department and Rehoboth Beach Police Department have both earned state accreditation from the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission.

As part of the rigorous process, a team of DPAC assessors ensured all accreditation standards were met by completing comprehensive, on-site inspections of each agency, reviewing their policies and procedures for compliance, and conducting interviews with department members. 

“This milestone represents a significant step forward for public safety in Delaware. The initial state accreditation of these police agencies reflects a strong commitment to professionalism, accountability and excellence in law enforcement. I commend each department for their dedication to serving their communities with integrity and for upholding the highest standards,” said Joshua Bushweller, Department of Safety and Homeland Security secretary and DPAC chair.



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DDA inducts three Delaware Century Farms – 47abc

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DDA inducts three Delaware Century Farms – 47abc


Dover, Del. – Three farms, one from each of Delaware’s counties, were inducted into the Century Farm Program by the state Department of Agriculture on Thursday at the Delaware Agricultural Museum.

Each of the family farms has been owned and operated for at least a century. Each received a sign for their farms, an engraved plate and legislative tributes.

In addition to Secretary of Agriculture, Don Clifton, and Deputy Secretary Jimmy Kroon, state Senators David Wilson (R – District 18) and Kyra Hoffner (D – District 14) were also in attendance.

Wright Family Farms are located in Harrington in Kent County. In 1919, the farm was purchased by William Wright. Over a century later, William’s grandson, Ronald, is the owner and his great-grandson, Greg, said he hopes to continue the family legacy by buying the farm from his father. 

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Although the event celebrated each family for their hard work and resilience, it also highlighted the challenges farmers have to surmount to stay in business today, let alone for a hundred years.

“The price of equipment, the price of fertilizer, the price of seed, everything is just gone up,” Greg said. “So, you know, everything’s going up that we gotta purchase just to stay in business.”

Clifton, Kroon and Wilson also echoed difficulties in balancing the need to preserve agricultural land with the need to develop housing and sustainable energy projects like solar power.

“I know housing is very important, and we want people to always have good housing, but at some point, I think you’re going to saturate the area with more houses than you have food to feed these people,” Wilson said.

Kroon also said there are difficulties in keeping future generations motivated to stay in farming.

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“When you think about it in the context of multi-generational farm families, there’s a real long-term challenge where a new generation may think twice about whether they want to keep farming if it’s always a struggle,” he said.

Clifton said farming has always been a challenging way of life, but it has been so since time immemorial.

“These families, their experience shows that they have an appreciation for the way of life and perseverance and that’s to be honored and emulated to the greatest extent possible,” he said.

Greg said he hopes to pass down the way of life so that his family legacy can live on for another hundred years, as well as for other families.

“A hundred years as the same family tilling the land, that’s, you know, that’s an honor right there,” Greg said. “And I hope that more farmers who are close to 100 years old will be doing the same thing. You know, keep it in the family.”

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Investigation underway after man’s body pulled from Delaware River

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Investigation underway after man’s body pulled from Delaware River


An investigation is underway after police said a man’s body was pulled from the Delaware River in South Philadelphia.

According to police, around 9 a.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026, emergency responders pulled an unidentified man from the Delaware River, near the Navy Yard. Medic’s pronounced the man dead at 9:11 a.m.

Léelo en español aquí.

SkyForce10 flew above as police and other first responders were on the scene.

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Police are working to determine the circumstances of the incident and identify the man.

This is a developing story; check back here for updates.



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