FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 30, 2025
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
DOVER — A bipartisan committee of Senators and Representatives convened in Dover Tuesday morning for the first of four scheduled special committee hearings.
This first hearing was focused on reviewing the reassessment process and included presentations by officials from New Castle County, the City of Wilmington, and Tyler Technologies, the vendor responsible for conducting Delaware’s first statewide tax reassessment in more than 40 years. Representatives from Kent and Sussex counties were invited to participate but did not make formal presentations.
Key Findings
- In his opening remarks, New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry shared that New Castle County’s assessment team recommended several times that property owners be notified of their new property values in the summer of 2024. C.E. Henry said, “It is also our understanding that the [Meyer] Administration said no to those recommendations. Instead, the assessment office was advised that tentative value notices couldn’t go out until mid-November. Accordingly, in mid-November 2024, Tyler mailed those notices of tentative value to property owners, the school districts, and to the municipalities.”
- On behalf of the City of Wilmington, Chief of Staff Cerron Cade testified that the shortcomings in the methodology used for mass appraisals produced statistical abnormalities in the City of Wilmington, with predominantly low-income neighborhoods shouldering the steepest tax burdens. Last week, the Mayor and members of City Council announced that the City of Wilmington will issue a request for proposal to conduct interior assessments in neighborhoods that have seen higher-than-average increases in property tax bills.
- Representatives from Tyler Technologies delivered a presentation that outlined their methodologies, specifically their utilization of mass appraisal rather than individual appraisals.
- Tyler’s representatives concluded their presentation by reiterating the timeline by which they collected data to assess property values as of July 1, 2024. Tyler began aerial imaging in 2022, conducted additional data collection through 2023, held a series of informal meetings toward the end of 2024, and provided the final data by mid-February of 2025.
- Tyler says that it is not part of their analysis to consider tax burden.
Following the presentations, members of the committee asked questions of the representatives from New Castle County, City of Wilmington, and Tyler Technologies.
“The range of strong, inquisitive questions we heard from legislators today is an indication of our commitment to leaving no stone unturned when it comes ensuring fairness for Delawareans impacted by the fallout of reassessment,” said Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend. “As we consider what short- and long-term solutions we can implement to improve Delaware’s reassessment processes, we must do all that we can to ensure that the biggest companies and wealthiest individuals are shouldering their share of the taxes that fund our schools and strengthen our community.”
Some members of the committee asked questions about the methodology used in commercial valuation that led to exorbitant discrepancies for some of the biggest corporations in Delaware.
“I represent the Newport area, which is home to one of the biggest Amazon facilities on the East Coast. I’m holding here information about the reassessment for that process,” said Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos. “How do you expect me to explain to the families living in the surrounding neighborhoods that their property taxes increased significantly while Amazon received such an extraordinary cut in their taxes?”
Later in the hearing, there was a prolonged discussion with the City of Wilmington regarding the absence of key data gathered by Tyler and New Castle County gathered by Tyler and New Castle County that has further called into question the valuations assessed for properties within city limits.
“Wilmington residents on fixed incomes are shouldering the burden from these mass appraisals, facing significant increases in their property taxes that many simply cannot afford,” said Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha. “These hearings are meant to get to the bottom of what went wrong and help us find real solutions moving forward. Today was definitely eye-opening, and I am hopeful that with continued dialogue, we can establish a fairer and more sustainable property tax structure moving forward.”
Another topic that prompted many questions from committee members surrounded issues of agriculture.
Sen. Kyra Hoffner represents the majority of New Castle County’s agricultural properties and asked, “When significant inconsistencies are identified, such as those brought forward by the public, what process do you follow to correct them? Are corrections applied broadly, or only to the specific property owner who raises the concern? For example, a chicken grower in New Castle County reported that the value per square foot of their chicken house was incorrect. While Tyler Technologies corrected the value for that individual, it appears that the correction was not extended to other chicken growers with similar properties. Why was this correction handled on a case-by-case basis instead of being applied consistently across all comparable properties?”
Following the questions from committee members, members of the public were able to provide public comment.
“When Delawareans reached out this summer about property tax bills, it became clear something was not right. Families were opening bills with increases of hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, and struggling to cover those costs while still paying for groceries, utilities, and everyday needs,” said House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris. “During the special session, we acted quickly to pass a stop gap solution in an effort to help families and keep schools and local governments running. That action was necessary, but it was never meant to be the final word. These hearings are about understanding where the reassessment process fell short, and building a fairer system. Our aim is to support our schools and local government while protecting Delaware families from sudden and overwhelming cost increases.”
The next joint special committee hearing is currently scheduled for Tuesday, October 7 at 9:30 a.m. and will take place in the House Chamber in Legislative Hall. This meeting may be subject to change.
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