established by the Act to Reincorporate
The Budget Committee organizes past and coming-year village expenditures for presentation to the September Town Assembly. It also prepares a three-year projection for the March Assembly. The September report forms the basis of the annual Budget Referendum. To prepare reports, committee members communicate with the other standing committees, the town secretary, treasurer and the trustees. This information-gathering activity provides an excellent overview of Arden’s governmental structure and its finances.
The Town Treasurer is an ex-officio member of the Budget Committee. Should a vacancy occur in the Treasurer’s position, the Budget Committee appoints a replacement who serves until the next Town Meeting, when Town Assembly follows its procedure for filling a vacancy. (Motions of the Town Assembly 1/28/2008 – 4.1)
Click here for Committee Descriptions: full text
Vacant Dwellings
Click here to see the Arden Vacant Property Registration Form.
Payment, Deposit Forms, Vouchers
Click on the links below to see forms you can print out on your computer.
Voucher: Request for Payment Form: money FROM the Village.
Use this voucher form to request payment from the Village of Arden. Click on the link, print the form, fill it out, and deliver to the Village Treasurer.
Deposit Form: money TO the Village.
Use this form if you have money that needs to be deposited. Click on the link, print the form, fill it out, and deliver to the Village Treasurer.
Village of Arden Treasurer
2119 The Highway
Arden, DE 19810-4058
Budget, Audit, and Other Reports
Local Services Application from the Village of Arden to New Castle County, Delaware. This application is submitted each year and authorizes New Castle County to provide government services, such as policing, that our village does not provide.
March 24, 2019 Financial Statement and Audit Report
2020-2021 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2019 referendum.
2019-2020 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the Oct. 30, 2018 referendum.
March 24, 2018 Financial Statement and Audit Report
2018-2019 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2017 referendum (one item defeated: Donation – Arden Craft Shop Museum)
March 24, 2017 Financial Statement and Audit Report
2017-2018 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2016 referendum.
March 24, 2016 Financial Statement and Audit Report
2016-2017 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2015 referendum.
March 24, 2015 Financial Statement and Audit Report
2015-2016 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2014 referendum. (one item defeated: Playground)
March 24, 2014 Financial Statements and Audit Report
2014-2015 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2013 referendum.
March 24, 2013 Financial Statements and Audit Report
2013-2014 Budget of the Village of Arden as passed in the November 2012 referendum.
March 24, 2012 Financial Statements and Audit Report
March 24, 2011 Financial Statements and Audit Report
March 24, 2010 Financial Statements and Audit Report
Financial statements for 2009 and 2008.
Land-rent assessments are set by the seven Assessors, who are elected annually.
Quarterly Reports from the Trustees and the Treasurer can be found in the minutes of Town Meetings. Included in those reports are the Buzz Ware Village Center budget reports.
Policies
Financial Policies of the Village of Arden These policies govern use of Contingency Funds, all expenditures greater than $2,000, transferring funds between budget items, authorizing fund transfers, obligations made for over $10,000, contracts or agreements for a year or longer, procurement of goods and services, and the official address for contracts and receipts. These policies are renewed every year at the June town meeting.
Original proposal for creation of Capital, Maintenance, and Repair Funds as proposed in June, 2010.
Monetary Gifts, Investment Guidelines, Endowment Funds, Grant Requests
Policy of the Village of Arden Regarding Monetary Gifts to the Village
Investment Guidelines of the Pendulum Fund (a.k.a. the Schroeder Bequest), Town Assembly March 25 2015 Change in Policy Disbursing Funds
Johanne Schroeder Last Will & Testament — Funds are left to the Village of Arden “for the preservation and care of the natural spaces within the Village of Arden. It will be up to the Trustees of Arden to decide whether, in special cases, to assist individual lease holders in the care, removal, and replacement of very large trees. The woods and greens of Arden have been my joy and inspiration, and I wish to contribute to their health and survival in the years to come.”
Process for Requesting Pendulum Fund Grants March 25, 2015 change in Policy Distribution Funds.
Statement from the Officers of the Town Assembly: The Town Officers of the Village of Arden, Delaware are responsible for approving grants from the Endowment Fund. This fund includes all gifts made to the village, restricted and unrestricted. It includes the bequest of Johanna Schroeder, a restricted gift known as the Pendulum Fund. The officers have found the previous once-a-year request process too limited in its timing. (This once-a-year process was described by Town Chair Steven Threefoot at the January, 2011 Town Meeting and is found in the minutes of that Meeting. That process was based on the Policy Regarding Monetary Gifts adopted by the Town Assembly on June 23, 2008. Both can be found on the Village website.) The officers have decided to revise the process for requesting Endowment Funds to a year-round process that otherwise retains all the safeguards of the former process.
The new process is as follows: Process for Requesting Endowment Fund Grants
1. Committees may request Endowment Fund Grants from the Town Officers at any time.
2. At every Town Meeting, one of the officers will announce all the new grant requests received by them (if any) since the last Town Meeting. Also, at every Town Meeting, the Treasurer will report the current status of the Endowment Fund and how much is available for the officers to grant.
3. Following that Town Meeting, the Town Officers will review the new grant requests. They will then discuss those new grant requests at the next Advisory Committee Meeting. For example, if a grant request is announced at the January Town Meeting, it will be discussed at the March Advisory Committee Meeting.
4. With the guidance of the Advisory Committee, the Town Officers will make their final decision on the grant requests and announce it at the next Town Meeting. For example, if a grant request was first announced at the January Town Meeting and discussed at the March Advisory Committee Meeting, the Officers’ decision will be announced at the March Town Meeting.
NOTE: All requests for Endowment Fund Grants must come through Village of Arden Committees, and funds are dispersed only through Committees. Committees may negotiate contracts, but they can only be executed by the Chair of the Town Assembly; that is, only the Chair of the Town Assembly can sign contracts for the Village of Arden.
Treasurer
David Michelson, Treasurer, was elected in March 2016 to a two-year term, having served since 2008. The treasurer oversees town finances in concert with the Budget and Audit Committees. To contact the village treasurer, members of the Budget Committee, or any elected official of the Village of Arden, Delaware, please use our Contact Us page.