Kent County Today

Money meant to be used for fiscal year 2021's budget is being used to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak by lawmakers and Gov. John Carney.

State lawmakers and Carney are having to use a large portion of money from the budget to help combat the virus.

In December, estimates for the current and next year's fiscal budget were released by the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC). 

Approximately $93 million was cut from the state's bottom line for fiscal year 2021's budget. 

A "middle of the road" approach is what the estimates DEFAC made look like, the organization said. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy is affecting the estimate. 

The largest impact to personal income and corporate tax revenue is expected to be seen in Delaware. This also includes the gross receipts tax. 

Revenue can also be impacted by delays in the deadline to file taxes this year, the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council said. If deadlines go beyond June 30, 2020, they could greatly affected revenue. But the governor said he believes the state can handle the economical impact on revenue and taxes. 

"One of the good things is we’ve got a lot of cushion in this budget, in addition to our rainy day fund," Carney said to Delaware Public Media. "The rainy day fund, I believe, becomes a mechanism that we could use for some of these emergency problems."

DEFAC still estimate $129 million higher for 2020's budget than the budget that was approved for this year in June 2019. The organization predicts the budget for the next fiscal year will be $38 million above what was expected in June 2019. 

On April 20, 2020, DEFAC will update the forecast for Delaware's revenues again.