Last Monday, the day before the 2nd half of the 145th General Assembly began, I was told by a leader in the House of Representatives that “there will be no tax increases this year.”

Three days later, that pledge was thrown out!

HB 30, passed by the House last Thursday, increases to 6% the fee paid by a developer (and therefore the homeowner) on new construction. With construction jobs in the tank (2,500 construction workers have lost their jobs in the last year), home prices down 2.6% year/year; and homes sold is down 8%, is this really the time to increase the cost on this industry? An industry which supports wholesale jobs? An industry that supports restaurants and retail? An industry which provides a living to tens of thousands of Delaware residents — both directly and indirectly?

If the House of Representatives really wanted to lower school construction costs, the LEAD report lists a number of options — none of which require tax increases.

Finally, the House member who told me that there would be no tax increases… This person voted for the bill… New Jersey & higher taxes, here we come…

The Roll Call was: