Residents in two neighborhoods bordering the tiny northern Delaware town of Bellefonte have a decision to make.
Join the town and its services or remain unincorporated.
Bellefonte officials are polling residents living in over 100 homes in Riverside Gardens and Phillip’s Heights neighborhoods before making a final decision on annexing the communities.
Annexation is not a new process to New Castle County, which includes several dozen unincorporated communities. Annexation is often used to control nearby development, secure open space, smooth the town’s boundaries or increase the tax base.
But some residents are concerned about what the Bellefonte annexation would do to their property tax bills, especially in the midst of court-mandated tax reassessment.
What to know about Bellefonte
Bellefonte is the second smallest town in New Castle County, behind Ardencroft. Situated two miles northeast of Wilmington, the town only covers 115 acres. It has a declining population of around 1,200 residents.
The majority of the homes in the town were built between 1930 and 1950, with nearly every residential lot in the town already developed, leaving little-to-no room for growth. The median value for houses in Bellefonte is around $216,000 and the median annual household income is around $55,000.
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Bellefonte is essentially run by a volunteer staff, who receive a stipend of $50 per month.
The town provides garbage, recycling and yard waste collection, as well as snow removal from town roads. Sewage and police services are provided to the town by New Castle County. Brandywine Hundred Volunteer Fire Company handles the town’s fire protection services, and residents attend schools in the Brandywine School District.
Why the town wants to annex neighborhoods
The annexation plans have been in the town’s comprehensive plan since 2019.
According to Scott Mackenzie, president of the Bellefonte Town Commission, the main reason for the annexation is to simplify the town’s borders to make it easier to provide services.
The annexation will include homes in Riverside Gardens, up to the middle of River Road and homes in Phillips Heights, up to the middle of Rodman Road.
The plan was approved by the Delaware Office of Planning and the Governor’s Office and also received letters of concurrence from New Castle County and the City of Wilmington, and has received support from affected residents.
In December, letters were sent to the 119 potentially annexed households explaining the move. The letters included a form asking residents to vote “yes” or “no” on the annexation.
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The pros and cons of annexation
If the annexation is approved, affected residents would no longer have to contract with trash haulers or snow plows. Those services would be provided by the town.
In turn, the residents would have to pay Bellefone real estate taxes, which average about $300 per year.
“Even though that’s considerable savings for most people, other people don’t see it that way,” Mackenzie said.
At a January public meeting, response to the annexation was mostly negative, according to Mackenzie and Riverside Gardens resident John Otterson, with most concerns centering around perceived government overreach and feared tax increases.
“From my seat, Bellefonte is trying to annex us before the court-mandated reassessment is completed,” Otterson said. “Most of the houses in my division are worth quite a bit more than the surrounding [Bellefonte] area and almost everyone has made significant improvements over the last five years. The reassessment is supposed to be revenue neutral for the county, but I’m pretty confident my division will be on the wrong side of neutral.”
Otterson requested to the town council that the annexation be postponed until after the court-mandated reassessment is completed to no avail.
“There’s nothing nefarious going on here,” Mackenzie said. “There would have to be some political power to grab for this to be a power grab. If it turns out people really don’t want this, it’s just not going to happen.”
What’s next
Mackenzie said that the town is currently in the “information gathering phase” of the annexation process. A subcommittee was created to evaluate feedback from the communities.
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Public hearings were held Jan. 9 and Feb. 13. Residents have until Feb. 28 to return their feedback forms, where they have the option to oppose the move.
After the feedback forms are returned, the taxation committee will gather to count survey responses. From there, the data will be compiled and presented to town commissioners and the State Office of Planning, which must go through another public hearing and a series of two more meetings to approve.
If all goes smoothly, Mackenzie estimates that the annexation could be completed by April or May at the very earilest.
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Contact Molly McVety at mmcvety@delawareonline.com.
