SUSSEX CO., DE - Sussex County’s property assessment appeals period has closed with county officials reporting only one percent of assessments contested.
Monday, March 31, was the final day to submit an appeal in the county-wide reassessment project. The assessments are Sussex County’s first since the 1970s.
A Sussex County spokesman said Tuesday fewer than 800 appeals were submitted before Monday’s deadline - representing about one percent of the total parcels that could be revised in southern Delaware.
"That's about 2000 parcels, maybe a little more than 2000 parcels," Sussex County Finance Director Gina Jennings said. "We have about 204,000 parcels in the county."
“Framed another way, the owners of 99 out of 100 parcels apparently saw no reason to contest, and I think that’s a testament to the fairness of a fact-based process,” said County Administrator Todd F. Lawson. “The credit goes to our staff, led by Finance Director Gina Jennings and Assessment Director Chris Keeler, for guiding us through this very cumbersome project, and certainly the public for their patience.”
Sussex County officials are now expected to adjust the property tax rate downward to ensure the county remains revenue neutral with the reassessed property values.
" I expect that that tax rate is going to definitely be under 3 cents for the county," Jennings said.
The new tax rate will be adopted for Fiscal Year 2026, according to Sussex County officials, and reflected in tax bills to be sent in August.
Jennings said the county welcomed challenges to the reassessments.
"We're okay with appeals because we want our records to be correct," Jennings said.
Jennings also addressed claims the county could have communicated better with the public.
"We actually put it in the paper more than we needed to," Jennings said. "The requirement is just to put it into two papers, we actually did it again."
Jennings said the appeal process will begin in April and continue in the coming months.
More information on the reassessment project can be found here.
