LEWES, Del. - The City of Lewes discussed the creation of a Resiliency Fund to charge locals a fee for resiliency including infrastructure, utilities, housing, accessibility, etc.
The city discussed approaches to set up the fund, fee structure examples, the fund goals and the dollar amount goals. They also talked about other ideas like creating a city-collected resiliency fee including:
- Residential: A flat fee per property Nonresidential: Based on square footage of impervious surface per lot for nonresidential properties. (This square footage includes the ground floor of the building plus those surfaces defined as impervious by the City. It does not include square footage of the building other than the ground floor).
- Accommodations fee (short term rental and lodging)
- Property tax increase
- Building permit fee increase (minimal revenue generation)
- Developer impact fee (minimal revenue generation)
Laura Robinson is in favor of a fee.Â
"I think it's a wonderful idea. I mean Lewes is, you know, we're right there at the beach. I mean, you need something to fall back on. I mean, you need a budget," said Robinson.Â
The city has not yet said how much the fee would be.
"But, I don't know how much... you know, how much would have to come out of pocket," said Robinson. "We have to have a pocket."
George Elibacher understands the need for a fee.
"If we need it, they should do it. Nothing is free, and I accept that. And I'm glad I can afford it," said Elibacher.