In the final weeks of New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer’s gubernatorial campaign, he debuted a new slogan: “Matt for the Future.”
In those four words, Meyer aimed to signal that he would be a leader for Delawareans, ready to face the uncertainty of what lies ahead for the First State as changes come on a federal level. When he served as New Castle County Executive, he embraced out-of-the-box thinking that resulted in innovative ideas like pairing scores of Medicaid-eligible mothers with nurses as well as creating the Hope Center.
But even so, Meyer will be sworn in as Delaware’s next governor at an uncertain time in Delaware and beyond. President-elect Donald Trump’s impact on federal programs and the funding they infuse in state and local initiatives is still unknown.
Delaware’s revenue is still highly dependent on the corporate franchise fees, which many state officials worry is under threat with other states working to court big companies like Tesla. Meyer will see yet another record-setting budget, this time with a spending limit at $7 billion, but may have to factor what Delaware’s future education model will look like. Independent reports say that Delaware is between
$500 million to $1 billion short in funding its schools.
With all these forces at work, Delaware business leaders are cautiously optimistic about the Meyer administration, though noting that the new governor will have to quickly form ties in the General Assembly to achieve key agenda items.
But one question— one that crosses affordable housing, education and economic development— looms large: what does the future under the Meyer administration bode for keeping Delawareans here to work?
“The bigger issue that businesses face is the people and the talent,”
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce President Mike Quaranta told the Delaware Business Times. “You can attract these businesses, but [company executives] will put a pin down where they want to put their plant and invest millions in equipment. They better see the demographics of people to recruit there. It’s about who’s going to work there not tomorrow but 20 years from now.”
Where the workforce lives
Michael Riemann, a civil engineer with Becker Morgan Group, said the workforce question is interlinked with Delaware’s housing issues, and it’s long before the COVID-19 pandemic drove retirees to flock to Sussex County.
“We had a young engineer work with us a couple years after school, and she had to resign because she had to live at home with her parents to be able to save money and buy a house,” Riemann said. It’s just so expensive, and affordability is a major issue when you’re trying to attract that talent.”
[caption id="attachment_469105" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Delaware's housing mix has consistently skewed toward single-family homes. With high housing costs, Delaware leaders are concerned it's pricing out the workforce. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING[/caption]
Since the pandemic, the population of Delaware surpassed 1 million for the first time, and the only age demographic that increased steadily was those 65 and older. People were
leaving cities and cashing out their homes and heading to Delaware, where their dollar could go further. As a result, the median home price as of November, is now
$384,633 according to the Delaware Association of Realtors. That’s 60% higher than it was a decade previously.
Housing developers will be
watching Meyer’s picks for both the Department of Transportation and Natural Resources and Environmental Control closely, as home builders need to secure environmental permits and conduct traffic studies that could make or break a project. Riemann, who serves as the president of the
Home Builders Association of Delaware (HBADE), said his membership hopes for more predictability in the permitting process, which can take between 18 to 24 months.
“Faster timelines is just one simple thing we can do to bring down costs, and it’s simple that can be done to address the affordability issue,” Riemann said. “There’s some places that have a technical review committee where all the agencies come together and review it, not tell you what permit to apply for. It could be a one-stop shop to get all the agencies together and on the same timeline.”
In New Castle County, Meyer
launched an expedited review process for non-residential projects called Jobs Now. If a developer’s application is accepted, developers met with the Land Use department for a pre-exploratory meeting with a timeline of other approvals and promised plan review completion within 5 days of submission. It remains to be seen if that can be replicated across state government, which has thousands more employees in departments all involved in the process.
The other major issue that blocked young residents from moving to Delaware was the lack of variety in housing options. Between 2021 and 2010, not much has changed in terms of Delaware’s housing stock, according to the
Delaware State Housing Authority study. About 58% of it is single family detached homes, and less than a quarter are duplexes or apartment units.
“When you see a bunch of single-family homes going up Route 13 or Route 1, that’s because of the environment that’s been created by the state. It’s a lot harder to build anything else,” HBADE Executive Director Katie Gillis said. “We really need more of every type of housing in this state to meet the demand - especially multi-family.”
There’s been recent movement, as now all three counties allow accessory dwelling units, and some workforce housing projects private developers have signed on. But the HBADE maintains that more could be achieved if the state worked to establish minimum density requirements and by-right processes for apartment complexes or townhomes. That could also bypass contentious public hearings where neighbors pressure local zoning boards to deny or alter a project.
“Sprawl is a byproduct of density, as we’re building two homes an acre and we’re eating up more land. What the community forgets is that there’s lengthy processes to handle that at the state. And what typically happens is the project ends up not happening or it’s watered down with less density,” Riemann said.
Time for “realignment”
The other side of the equation to attracting and retaining young talent is a top-tier education system. Delaware has grappled with a child care subsidy program that does not apply to many of its residents, meaning families have to pay high costs to get toddlers into school. In addition, Delaware has regularly recorded low proficiency scores for reading and math skills. Education advocates also say Delaware is hamstrung by a complicated funding formula that’s based on the property tax base as well as a unit count established in the 1940s.
Prompted by a lawsuit settlement, education experts and association leaders are now in talks about how to best modify the funding model to ensure more equitable investments in Delaware schools. Recommendations are expected in October 2025, with the possibility of implementation in Fiscal Year 2027. Right now, the Public Education Funding Commission is starting to agree that investing more dollars in student needs is necessary, but specifics have yet to be discussed.
Rodel Foundation President and CEO Paul Herdman sees the incoming Meyer administration as a chance for realignment to address these long-lingering issues.
“It’s really not a time for incremental change, it’s time for transformational and bold change. That cuts across the conversation around funding and early childhood education,” he said. “If we don’t take some chances, given the rapid pace of change, it’s going to feel like we’re snowed under.”
As a former teacher, Meyer’s
comprehensive education plan commits to better aligning Delaware’s funding to $6,400 per pupil, as well as rolling out universal pre-kindergarten by the end of his first term, as well as breaking down barriers for high-quality child care.
[caption id="attachment_469106" align="alignright" width="300"]
Delaware is at a realignment moment when it comes to funding the future of education, state leaders say. | PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNY ELIASON/UNSPLASH[/caption]
While child care advocates like Jamie Schneider, who owns the Educational Enrichment Center off U.S. Route 202, note that’s not likely to happen in four years, it’s an ambitious goal she can get behind — but it’s not without other challenges.
“We know birth to age 3 is when the most brain development is happening, and if we’re so concerned about third grade reading scores, the answer is obvious,” Schneider said. “It’s a good aspiration, but we don’t have the facilities and the teachers to achieve it. If we don’t
have enough teachers, we can’t serve more children.”
Outside of early childhood education, Meyer’s education plan also
supports teacher salaries, as well as granting behavioral support positions, and granting teachers more control over how they teach.
Those promises, if realized, may go a long way, according to Taylor Hawk, director of legislative and political strategy for the
Delaware State Education Association (DSEA). Through an association survey, 75% of educators reported that they are looking to leave earlier than planned. Three out of five educators said they’re more likely to leave due to behavioral issues.
“We’re really looking for a culture change, one that fundamentally changes education policy decisions made in Delaware,” Hawk said. “The 2010s were when we saw a lot of top-down reforms, and I believe it’s important to really consider what reforms have worked over the years.”
She pointed to the reintroduction of structured play in some of the Brandywine School District schools, which has gotten students excited to learn and try new creative outlets in their lessons.
Those top-down reforms, Hawk added, resulted in taking out kindergarten and first grade structured play in some Delaware school districts. Now the Brandywine School District is bringing it back to schools, and in tandem, educators are introducing creative writing exercises to introduce students.
“It’s important to measure student achievement in a standardized way, but that’s bringing an element of joy to our schools and making sure our students want to be there and continue to learn,” she said.
Small businesses are “watching carefully”
Against the backdrop of Delaware’s affordable housing challenges and education reform, business stakeholders are eagerly watching as Meyer begins to build out his economic development policy.
[caption id="attachment_469107" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Gov.-elect Matt Meyer talks with supporters outside the polls on election day. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING[/caption]
Under Gov. John Carney, the state’s strategy was to
build up financial reserves while providing taxpayer-backed grants to new and existing businesses to add jobs. Since it was formed in 2017, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership had helped retain or attract 10,000 jobs through $2 billion in capital expenses.
But Quaranta said he’s heard from colleagues in other states that there’s growing pushback on such programs —and it may not be possible for Delaware to compete with larger states.
“We don’t have the pocketbook here to do major deals. We could do one big deal, but we can’t do two or 10 because we don’t have the scale or the resources that states like New Jersey or Pennsylvania have,” he said. “But what [the DSCC] is interested in is the people, because the workforce is key to all business, especially as we continue to compete with Europe and Asia.”
When it comes to possible bold action, Quaranta is confident that Meyer can quickly start to pilot programs and quickly scale them up if they prove to be successful. For small businesses, it still remains to be seen how the Meyer agenda - and proposals for the General Assembly - will impact small businesses.
“Based on the campaign speeches we’ve heard, I think small businesses are a little guarded about what’s coming down the pike,” said Mike O’Halloran, the Delaware director of the
National Federation of Independent Business. “You’re seeing the General Assembly take a more active approach in determining what small businesses can do- and that just makes it harder to attract talent.”
He pointed to recent measures such as
Delaware EARNs, the paid family and medical leave law and the
$15 minimum wage increase. “Those costs have to be absorbed somewhere, and for businesses that aren’t large corporations, that means raising prices or dialing back employee hours or resources,” he said.
Part of the difficulty in predicting the year to come is Meyer’s relative newcomer status in state politics. He has served eight years in New Castle County government and is a relative unknown in the legislative hall. He will have to greet a Democratic party that is including more progressive members and now has new leadership in House Speaker Melissa “Mimi” Minor-Brown (D-New Castle).
“All his platforms sound good, but the million-dollar question will be how does that translate with the new dynamic of the General Assembly,” O’Halloran said. “That’s really what our small business members will be watching carefully.”
