I have lived in Arden for fifteen years, learning much about our community’s quirkiness and dynamics through personal engagements, social service and public meetings. I believe the “community standard of living” approach makes sense for levying land rent. I also strongly believe that our community should carry a prudent reserve that is only necessary to handle uncertainty in “outside taxes” (those from New Castle County) and our own budget plus a reasonable “cushion” for village and trust cashflows, taking into account arrearages.
Since we settled our plans to manage the total reserve between the Town and Trustees in 2014, I will continue to bring forth ideas to manage our current reserve in a robust fashion to the 2021 Assessor Board. The basis of the 2014 reserve should be reviewed and updated in 2021 as part of this assessment (for history, see page 6 of these town meeting minutes: http://arden.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/June-2.pdf) . As a retired Six Sigma (Statistics) Master Blackbelt with DuPont, I bring my analytical skills to the Board of Assessors, as I have in prior Land Rent Assessments. I continue to be active in Georgist activities.
We all have concerns on the economic impacts of the current Covid-19 pandemic, which includes our cumulative “taxes.” I’ve watched what has happened to ADU owners in the past two assessments, and would advocate that we make no further changes to ADU factors and/or costs, so that the leaseholders with ADUs can plan their cost position for their potential rental properties. My focus, if elected to the 2021 Board of Assessors, is on ensuring we assess to the current budget and forecasted taxes, as well as a reserve cushion. I will advocate, if elected, that we not change any of the other factors in this assessment year, and focus the energy of the BOA on the appropriate “A” rate to accomplish the goals of paying our bills. This is the year to tighten our belt, know where our cash is, and plan for the unexpected without over-reacting. 10/12/20