NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - Officials say a man has been injured in an explosion at a home in New Castle.

City police, firefighters and a state fire marshal responded to the home on Van Dyke Drive on Tuesday morning and several homes in the area were evacuated.

The man was taken to an area hospital with what officials at the scene described as shrapnel injuries.

There will be no hike in the property taxes for Sussex County residents.

The proposed $117-million budget unveiled this morning left the rate at 44.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Meanwhile, the budget itself rose by 2.8 percent over the current fiscal year with general revenue funds up $3.7 million including a holdover of nearly $2 million from this year.

County employees would see a one-time bonus of 2 percent and a $5 million contribution to their pension fund.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Anne Arundel County property owners are getting a break on a new stormwater fee.

The county council voted Monday to limit commercial property owners' fees at 25 percent of their property tax bill and phase in homeowners' fees.

The Capital of Annapolis reports that property owners with bills of $500 or more will pay 60 percent in 2014, 80 percent in 2015 and 100 percent in 2016.

The changes respond to protests to a bill passed over the county executive's veto last month.