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Looming Budget Shortfall for Delaware Lawmakers

Don Rush

The First State is facing a $350 million budget deficit as it enters the New Year.

That’s the word from the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council yesterday.

This year the panel said there would be a $150 million shortfall and in the next the next fiscal year it would grow the around $200 million.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that Finance Secretary Thomas Cook said that the state was at a crossroads and would have to look at restructuring its revenue portfolio.

Governor Jack Markell will now use the numbers to fashion a budget of $3.9 billion that is around 5 percent less than the current budget of $4.1 billion.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.