At Dewey Beach’s recent budget workshop, an alarming revelation came to light: Dewey Beach non-police employees currently pay 0% toward their health insurance – whether individual or family plans – driving a growing budget deficit. This practice stands out as an outlier compared to other towns and companies nationwide. Years ago, the town implemented a policy where employees would contribute 10% for individual coverage and 20% for family plans. However, it appears this arrangement was never codified, leaving the town to cover 100% of the costs, and no one spoke up. While Dewey Beach has been notably generous with employee raises in recent years, it is imperative the town address this discrepancy to bring the budget under control. Failing to do so could lead the town to consider two foolish and impractical alternatives discussed at the workshop:
- Changing the building permit fee structure from the current 3% charge based on actual material and labor costs to some town estimation method using square footage, which could result in drastically inflated fees for residents
- Raiding the beach replenishment fund, which is a critical resource for maintaining our shoreline. Just last year, nearly every penny was almost needed for beach replenishment. The mayor’s suggestion that the new administration said, “Don't worry so let's spend the money on other purposes” is deeply troubling, as these funds are meant solely for protecting our town's most valuable asset, not as a slush fund.
The responsible course of action is to fix the budget at its source, ensuring fair employee contributions to health insurance costs. This approach aligns with the practices of other towns and industry, and safeguards the financial stability of Dewey Beach without jeopardizing residents or vital resources.
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