It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting the historic New Castle Italian Immigrant Memorial gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in New Castle, DE is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
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“Here's what I posted on Google and Facebook: Life would have been a lot harder without Always Best Care in my life, I have COPD and I am on oxygen full time at level 4 so doing daily chores are out question without my caregiver Ricci Anthony who has been taking tremendous care of me for 3 years this August 2022 and I thank God everyday for him. Every time he arrives he immediately says Hi checks in with me to see how I am doing. As well as, every time he departs I thank him for all that he does for me and I tell him I love him Ricci replies in same likeness. Ricci and I are incredible friends, it’s closer to a dad and son relationship. We’re both strong Christian me. As for Chelsea who does Intake and is the Schedules for Always Best Care equally an amazing individual. Don’t let her young age fool you on the contrary she is a powerhouse. She’s highly a professional, she’s industrious, highly intelligent, she’s a great friend and you can always depend on her to be in support for you. Always Best Care is always best care.”
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Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting New Castle Battery Park with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Zollies Jazz Cucina or visit Read House & Gardens, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
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While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in New Castle, DE, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in New Castle, DE understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in New Castle, DE 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
A plan for a fish smoking facility in the city of New Castle is scheduled for a public hearing on compliance with the Coastal Zone Act on Aug. 21.North Fish USA has proposed the facility in an existing building in the Centerpoint Business Park at 200 Centerpoint Blvd., off Route 273 (Frenchtown Road).Plans include hiring an estimated 25 permanent full-time workers, with temporary jobs for construction workers and contractors during the setup process.The company's address is Pembroke Park, Florida, on the Coastal Zone Act...
A plan for a fish smoking facility in the city of New Castle is scheduled for a public hearing on compliance with the Coastal Zone Act on Aug. 21.
North Fish USA has proposed the facility in an existing building in the Centerpoint Business Park at 200 Centerpoint Blvd., off Route 273 (Frenchtown Road).
Plans include hiring an estimated 25 permanent full-time workers, with temporary jobs for construction workers and contractors during the setup process.
The company's address is Pembroke Park, Florida, on the Coastal Zone Act application filed with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
North Fish will lease the 17,496-square-foot space and operate 12 hours per day, six days a week, Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Jeffrey Bergstrom, city of New Castle building official and fire marshal, confirmed that the proposal meets the requirements of the industrial zone in the business park.
“The amount of smoke coming out will probably be less than a backyard barbecue,” Bergstrom said.
As for potential odor, a dogfood manufacturer had operated in the space before, and the city didn’t receive any complaints about smells from that facility, Bergstrom said.
The city is waiting for the Coastal Zone Act decision before issuing a business license, Bergstrom said.
The Coastal Zone Act, passed by the Delaware General Assembly in 1971, prohibited future heavy industrial development and created a permitting program for manufacturing activities within Delaware’s coastal zone, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's website.
In the Coastal Zone Act application, North Fish USA reported plans to process 5.5 to 11 tons of fish per day. The materials used in the process are raw fish, water, salt and hickory wood chips. The final product is smoked fish.
After the fish are eviscerated and cleaned, they are put in a brining solution, then hooked on racks, put in the drying room, then smoked. The smoked fish are vacuum sealed in plastic and refrigerated until delivery on refrigerated trucks.
The proposal is for a “cold smoking process,” under 90 degrees. The low heat prevents cooking but the smoke ensures shelf-stable preservation.
“In the future, North Fish might use a hot smoking process” for up to 10% of the fish, according to the Coastal Zone Act application. In hot smoking, the temperature is about 165 degrees.
“The amount of salt, water and wood chips used are the same and the emissions are the same,” the company said.
Existing equipment at the business park facility includes an industrial freezer and cooler to hold the raw and finished fish.
New equipment will include two electric pallet jacks, two electric forklifts, a Boleto gutting machine to remove organs from fish, a fish slicer, plastic vats, racks to hold fish for smoking, the smokers, a vacuum packing machine and a “wet scrubber” to reduce air emissions.
The only air emissions will be wood smoke from the smokers, the company said. By using the wet scrubber, emissions are reduced an estimated 69% for particulate matter and reduced an estimated 85% for volatile organic compounds, the company said. The wet scrubber uses water to capture smoke particles which are then sent to the drain.
There should be no carbon monoxide emissions due to the temperature of the smoker.
North Fish said it will plant 20 trees in the business park “to take up more emissions than the facility will generate … selected by the consultant to be native species that do well in this area and climate.”
Approximately 14,000 gallons of water per day will be used to defrost fish or to brine fish prior to smoking.
The water will come from the city of New Castle municipal water supply.
About 420 pounds of salt is used per day to make brine. The brine is discharged to the sewer system, except for any which is absorbed into the fish.
The drains are equipped with three 200-gallon grease traps to capture organics. The grease traps are pumped monthly.
“Based on many decades of industry experience, North Fish will implement a rigorous odor control plan to make sure the company’s operations are not a nuisance to neighboring properties,” the company said.
All byproducts from the production process including fish waste are put in garbage bags and then in a two-yard plastic container instead of standard metal waste bins. The plastic container is nonporous, corrosion-resistant and easily washable from the inside, minimizing the risk of odor retention and leakage.
The company will apply baking soda to the bottom of the container prior to use as well as between layers of waste placed inside, a method effective in reducing odor according to a report in “Waste Management,” the international journal of integrated waste management, science and technology.
“All waste placed inside the isolated plastic container will always be picked up daily, at the end of the evening to ensure that no waste remains on site overnight,” the company said.
North Fish plans to wash the plastic waste container every three days inside the building so that waste and cleaning agents are flushed down the building’s sewer system.
“In the very odd chance that any complaints arise ... North Fish guarantees to address them immediately, be it through increased dumpster pickups or additional sanitary control measures” such as more frequent waste container washing, the company said.
The virtual public hearing will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 21. The link is on the website of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, de.gov/dnrechearings. The passcode is 595001. For the audio-only portion of the virtual hearing, call 309-205-3325 and enter meeting ID 874 6466 4598 and passcode 595001.
Those wishing to offer verbal comments during the virtual public hearings must register no later than noon on Aug. 21 at de.gov/dnreccomments or by telephone at (302) 739-9001.
DNREC will accept comments through Sept. 5 by email to [email protected], or the online form at de.gov/dnreccomments, or by U.S. mail to Lisa A. Vest, DNREC – Office of the Secretary, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at [email protected].
A data center with 11 buildings totaling about 6 million square feet has been proposed northwest of Delaware City with projections of creating hundreds of jobs.New Castle County has received a plan from property owner New Castle Campus Development LLC and developer Starwood Digital Ventures for the project on about 580 acres on two properties.One parcel is on the north side of Governor Lea Road, north of School House Road, east of Route 1 and Route 13. The other is farther north, east of Route 1 on the south side of Hamburg Roa...
A data center with 11 buildings totaling about 6 million square feet has been proposed northwest of Delaware City with projections of creating hundreds of jobs.
New Castle County has received a plan from property owner New Castle Campus Development LLC and developer Starwood Digital Ventures for the project on about 580 acres on two properties.
One parcel is on the north side of Governor Lea Road, north of School House Road, east of Route 1 and Route 13. The other is farther north, east of Route 1 on the south side of Hamburg Road at River Road (Route 9), north of Red Lion Creek.
Plans include a 1.2 gigawatt data center spread among five buildings on the north campus and six buildings on the south campus, according to a letter on behalf of the developer from Douglas M. Eitelman, vice president of Vandemark & Lynch, engineers, planners and surveyors, of Wilmington. Each building would be two stories.
Data centers typically house computer servers, networking equipment and other technology. More than a decade ago, plans for a data center on the STAR campus in Newark were scrapped after residents protested over noise and environmental concerns of a natural gas-fired power plant that would power it.
In the new project, electrical infrastructure will be located across from Delmarva Power & Light Co.'s Red Lion electrical substation. The electrical yards are sized to support both phases of the project, Eitelman wrote.
A traffic impact study will be conducted.
“Data centers generate significantly less trips than similarly sized warehouse/logistics uses,” Eitelman wrote.
Michael Perlman, senior vice president of Starwood Capital Group, wrote a letter to the county requesting approval of the data center under the county’s “Jobs Now” program, which offers “accelerated plan review for development projects that bring new or expanded employment opportunities.”
“Timely approvals under the Jobs Now program are essential to meeting customer demand and ensuring project viability,” Perlman wrote.
He said Starwood Digital Ventures will own the data center and will lease it to a user who will operate it.
If the plans are approved, Perlman estimates construction could start in the third quarter of 2026 with operations targeted to start in the second quarter of 2028.
Starwood Digital Ventures is a subsidiary of Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm with a primary focus on global real estate, Perlman said.
“Founded in 1991, Starwood is one of the world’s largest private real estate firms, with more than $115 billion in assets under management. Starwood Digital Ventures currently has over $17 billion of digital infrastructure commitments and a pipeline of over 3.5 GW of data center developments globally,” Perlman wrote.
He estimated the investment in building the data center at $5 billion.
“End users will invest considerably more into the data center for hardware,” he wrote.
Perlman projected 95 to 125 permanent jobs on the data center operations team in addition to hundreds of construction and trade jobs during the building process.
Top paying jobs are a data center operations director, estimated at $125,000 to $170,000; a property management director, $120,000 to $160,000; two property managers, $95,000 to $130,000 each and two data center operations managers, $95,000 to $140,000 each.
The list of potential employees includes 24 “roving engineers” making between $55,000 and $90,000, 40 security staff making between $40,000 and $65,000 and 18 custodians making between $40,000 and $60,000.
“The ultimate number of new permanent jobs to be created as a result of the project is expected to be significantly greater…depending on the ultimate tenant and end user of the buildings,” Perlman wrote.
Kevin Caneco is the New Castle County councilman in the 12th District where the data center is planned.
“I’m open to looking at it,” Caneco said. “The location somewhat makes sense, nestled next to a refinery and other developments. However, I’m also concerned about the possible environmental impacts,” including the electricity required and the noise created.
According to computer networking and security company Cisco, “the key components of a data center design include routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems, servers and application-delivery controllers.”
“Data center components require significant infrastructure to support the center's hardware and software,” according to the Cisco website. “These include power subsystems, uninterruptible power supplies, ventilation, cooling systems, fire suppression, backup generators and connections to external networks.”
Gov. Meyer names a new public advocate to protect utility users from 'unfair rate hikes'Caneco opposes an expedited approval process.
“My position is this should go through the normal land use process, which takes 12 to 18 months,” Caneco said, providing time for a thorough review and public hearings.
The southern property is zoned for uses which include a data center, but the northern property is not. That parcel would require a county council rezoning vote.
Caneco would also like to see more specifics on the jobs that would be created.
“I’m open to having a project that could bring high-quality, high-paying jobs, but I want to know what the actual number will be,” he said. “Not knowing the tenant, we’re basically speculating. I want some assurances.”
“It’s kind of in its infancy stages now,” Caneco said. “It’s very early. We have a lot to learn.”
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at [email protected].
What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.Questions are swirling around the methods used by the company Delaware counties hired to reassess property values as state lawmakers prepare to go into a special session on the issue later this month.New Castle County Councilmembers David Tackett and Brandon Toole have requested an independent audit of how Tyler Technologies, a third-party contractor, valued residential and non-residential properties....
What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
Questions are swirling around the methods used by the company Delaware counties hired to reassess property values as state lawmakers prepare to go into a special session on the issue later this month.
New Castle County Councilmembers David Tackett and Brandon Toole have requested an independent audit of how Tyler Technologies, a third-party contractor, valued residential and non-residential properties.
Much of the tax burden in New Castle County has fallen on homeowners while many commercial properties saw decreases. Frustrated residents have taken to social media, attended city and county council meetings and contacted their state representatives to voice their anger over new valuations that may have risen hundreds of dollars or more.
“My mailbox is full every day from emails of constituents who say they’re going to lose their homes,” Tackett said. “There’s seniors who are on fixed incomes. A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck now.”
In the midst of residents decrying the increases, blame is falling on Tyler’s methodology, schools districts who took advantage of state law allowing them to exact 10% revenue increases after reassessments, and the vacancy rate in the city of Wilmington. Lawmakers have floated several proposals aimed at helping New Castle County residents deal with the large hikes.
The company used two different methods for evaluating residential and non-residential properties. It determined the values for residential properties based on sales comparison data and the physical inspection of buildings and land, which is a requirement set forth in the Delaware Constitution. Tyler used income information for commercial, utilities and industrial facilities.
Several county and state officials say they’re concerned about the way Tyler valued the commercial properties, including whether it violated Delaware law.
In an emailed response, Tyler officials said the company has not received a request from the county to participate in an audit. Their statement did not address whether the method used for non-residential properties complied with state law, but said it used industry best practices, such as the sales comparison and income approaches, to ensure commercial land is valued fairly and consistently.
“I’d like to see a little bit more assurance to the public that this was done as fairly as it possibly could have been done,” Tackett said. “The community right now is at a point where they are confused and don’t understand what this process is or how it worked, and they’re struggling to get answers.”
New Castle County Councilmember Dave Carter said property owners, such as homeowners, condo owners and land owners, all saw their properties go up in value faster than commercial and other properties over the past 40 years.
New Castle County’s chief financial officer, Jill Floore, told the county finance committee earlier this month that residents are seeing their share of the tax burden swell from 67% to about 76%. The city of Wilmington said earlier this year that residential properties are now 57% of its tax base while commercial properties make up just 29%.
Some New Castle County Council members argue the commercial vacancy rate in the city of Wilmington is to blame for the disparities, not the method Tyler Technologies used to determine commercial market value.
A recent report from Newmark, a commercial real estate firm, puts the city’s vacancy rate at 19.8%. That’s similar to June’s national vacancy rate of 19.4%, according to real estate blog Commercial Cafe.
The high vacancy rate in downtown Wilmington is due in part to the continued popularity of working remotely, which took off when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.
Some major companies in Wilmington are seeing tax decreases, which is providing fuel to county, city and state elected officials who are demanding a review of Tyler’s work.
For example, M&T Bank saw a drop of about 50% in its bill, from $997,304 in 2024 to $444,927 this year. Amazon saw its overall tax bill plummet from about $3.5 million last year to about $1 million this year, a $2.5 million decrease.
Wilmington City Councilmember Christian Willauer is echoing the call for an audit by New Castle County Councilmembers Tackett and Toole.
“The real problem is that the new property tax assessments for many large corporations and million dollar homes are way too low while the new assessments for many small businesses and homeowners with modest homes are too high,” Willauer posted on Facebook. “As a result, many corporations and wealthy homeowners are seeing their property tax bills go down by a lot, with some getting reductions of 50% or more, while working and middle class homeowners are getting bills that are 20%, 50%, even 100%+ higher than last year.”
During last month’s county finance committee meeting, Michael McFarlane, manager of Southern Appraisal Region & Consulting Services with Tyler Technologies, said a much higher percentage of vacant commercial properties caused many of those properties to go down in value. He defended the income method used for commercial and other non-residential properties.
New County Councilmember Kevin Caneco argued in support of Tyler’s process during the finance committee meeting.
“You might fundamentally disagree with the assessment, but it does not mean that the numbers were wrong or the counting was wrong,” he said. “It means that, unfortunately, we have a changing market.”
New Castle County for the first time did separate rates for residential and commercial properties to address the disparities. The city of Wilmington also did separate rates.
School taxes make up the majority of county invoices. Several school districts took advantage of state law, which allows them to exact a 10% increase in revenue after property reassessments. They’re also facing blowback from elected leaders, including from Gov. Matt Meyer. Districts who raised additional revenue of between 1% and 10% include Red Clay, Christina, Appoquinimink and Indian River.
Meyer said in July he supported state lawmakers’ move to hold a special session to address what he called “outrageous tax bills.” Meyer was New Castle County executive when the assessments by Tyler Technologies began.
State Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, is reintroducing legislation that would remove school districts’ ability to raise additional revenue after property assessments.
“I think it would be a good partnership with the school districts to show us why they do need the money and what it’s for,” he said. “I think it should be data driven. We should see exactly why you have a need.”
Most of downtown Wilmington is in the Christina School District. School board member Doug Manley said the median homeowner’s bill rose about $600 while many large commercial properties downtown are paying much lower property taxes this year. He said lawmakers allowing districts to also split the tax rates would provide better equity among residential and non-residential properties.
“What we’re asking the state to do is, if your county split the tax bill for itself, then the school district in that county should be able to do, at minimum, what the county did,” he said.
State Rep. Kim Williams, D-Stanton, is crafting legislation to allow school districts to do just that.
“This has been a really unfair burden to their constituents, and as well as constituents that we represent in this area,” she said.
She said like many other homeowners, she has also seen her taxes rise. Her home went up 800% in value and her taxes approximately doubled.
“I’m just one of many, but that’s the difference,” she said. “So you have people who have paid their homes off or on fixed income and have been hit hard by this. It’s unacceptable.”
Another proposal that legislators could consider would change the requirement that counties do property assessments from every five years, which became law in 2023, to every 10 years. Prior to this round of property assessments by the three counties, it had been more than 40 years since properties had been last assessed.
House and Senate Democratic leadership said in a news release they will also consider other policies during the special session, including the following:
This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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This story is part of the , bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? .Dozens of New Castle County residents pushed back against a planned data center for Delaware City during a tense town hall Thursday night. One by one, they lined up inside a fire hall for a chance to chastise representatives of the private investor firm that plans to construct a...
This story is part of the , bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? .
Dozens of New Castle County residents pushed back against a planned data center for Delaware City during a tense town hall Thursday night. One by one, they lined up inside a fire hall for a chance to chastise representatives of the private investor firm that plans to construct a data center that would be 6 million square feet in size.
“You are doing nothing in our community by erecting this data center. We like jobs, but the jobs that you dangled in front of us, it’s not commensurate with what you’re proposing with the size of this data center,” said Rob Bullock, a New Castle resident and community advocate.
Starwood Digital Ventures is proposing to build a 1.2-gigawatt data center in Delaware City, which sits along the Delaware River. The investor-developer said the project, which is in the early proposal stage, would generate thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue for the state.
But during the heated three-hour town hall, residents grilled representatives with questions about potential energy and water use, environmental impacts and whether the jobs would be given to local residents. When investors couldn’t answer some questions, frustration grew among a crowd that largely came in with apprehensions.
“Within 4 miles of where I live there are mega buildings, a refinery … Route 1 traffic, noise from airplanes and helicopters,” said resident Ike Brown. “My moral and ethical question is, who has the right to decide the impact on our health and quality of life other than the people who actually live in these communities?”
Data centers house the computer servers required to run internet services worldwide.
While they have been around since the mid-20th century, the acceleration of power-hungry artificial intelligence has boosted demand for the sites. AI requires more power at a faster rate than typical internet activities, straining the power grid, and leading to increased electricity rates for consumers.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced plans to accelerate AI development with limited regulatory oversight. That same day, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed legislation to develop an “AI Sandbox” in the state, which will be a “testing ground” for AI technology to be developed and deployed in an ethical way across several sectors.
A 2024 Department of Energy report on U.S. data center energy use estimated that data center load growth tripled over the past decade, and would double or triple by 2028. Data center electricity usage climbed from 58 terawatt-hours in 2014 to 176 terawatt-hours in 2023, according to the report, and is likely to increase between 325 and 580 terawatt-hours by 2028.
The plan in Delaware City, which must be approved by New Castle County Council and would require land to be rezoned, includes an 11-building facility that would be 6 million square feet large. A Spotlight Media report suggests it could consume as much power as 1 million homes. The largest data center in the U.S., located in Nevada, is 7.2 million square feet.
Starwood Digital Ventures has delivered more than 6 gigawatts of data centers globally, and is developing similar projects in Virginia, Illinois and Texas and worldwide.
During the town hall, the firm’s CEO Anthony Balestrieri said Delaware City is an attractive location because of its proximity to high voltage power lines and the Red Lion substation. The state is also located between the world’s largest data center markets – Virginia and New York.
“If you think about electrons as cars on a highway, this location is like an interchange on a 20-lane super highway, crossing multiple state lines, carrying electrons all over the United States,” Balestrieri said.
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The project would create more than 500 permanent jobs over time, as well as thousands of construction jobs, and could generate $26 million in tax revenue for the state, Balestrieri said. The project is anticipated to generate more than $470 million in economic impact during the first five years of operation.
“Data centers are the invisible backbone that make our interconnected digital lives possible,” Balestrieri said. “They’re a mission-critical infrastructure for the U.S. economy, enabling services, connectivity, innovation, across business and industry, including banks, governments, education facilities, health care and first responders. In short, they play a vital role in ensuring access to the internet cheaply and fairly for everyone.”
Without them, he said, every household and business would need a large, energy-sucking, computer in their basement.
But residents who attended the town hall expressed concerns about energy use and increased electricity bills.
While some data center operators have built their own power plants to generate energy, most of these facilities rely on the electrical grid, which in the Philadelphia region, is managed by PJM Interconnection.
Residents in Delaware have already been hit with increased energy bills, and PJM’s recent capacity auction – where power plants bid for rates in exchange for guaranteeing future supplies – resulted in an expectation that those rates will rise another 1.5% to 5%.
“We’ve already seen big hikes, and a lot of us are retired on a fixed income,” New Castle resident Nan Wallace told WHYY before the town hall began. “So people had to absorb [Delmarva Power’s] very large rate increases last winter, and it was very hard for them.”
While experts say data centers have already put a strain on the grid, causing energy bills to soar, Balestrieri said data centers amount to less than 5% of annual electricity use in the U.S., referencing a 2023 Department of Energy study. However, the same report indicates data centers will consume 6.7 to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028.
The electrons used in the data center will be purchased on the open market through power purchasing agreements, likely after construction.
Delmarva Power, which provides electricity to Delaware residents, was invited to the town hall but did not attend.
Democratic state Rep. Frank Burns, whose district includes part of New Castle County, was among the residents who lined up in the town hall to criticize the project. He called the potential job prospects a “bad trade-off.”
“The more forthcoming as you can be and as helpful as you could be in ensuring that prices won’t go up, that would be very helpful, because right now what I’m feeling is that the ratepayers here in Delaware are going to pay a big cost,” Burns said.
Not only do data centers consume a significant amount of energy, they also require substantial water consumption to cool servers that are at risk of overheating. Larger data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of drinking water per day, and in some areas, have drained resident’s well water supplies.
“This whole part of the country has had drought problems. We had forest fires just north of us in New Jersey,” New Castle resident Louise Rolleri told WHYY News before the town hall began. “We don’t have enough water to take care of ourselves, much less come up with 3, or 4, or 5 million gallons a day to cool some plants.”
Starwood Digital Ventures would get its water from Veolia, which provides drinking water for New Castle County residents. The water provider was invited to the town hall but did not attend.
“Veolia has confirmed they have adequate capacity to serve the water requirements of this campus and no on-site wells or alternative groundwater sources will be necessary,” said Vice President Holden Foxworth.
During the town hall, representatives from Starwood said data centers don’t use any more water than office buildings of the same size.
Several residents grilled the company with questions regarding the specific amount of water that would be required for the proposed data center, but representatives said it’s too early to provide answers.
“You keep referring to typical data centers, but I think it’s incredibly important to note that this is not a typical data center,” said one resident, frustrated with the vague answers to her questions.
The data center would be bigger than the company’s current largest operating data center.
Democratic state Rep. Eric Morrison, whose district includes part of New Castle County, said he didn’t trust the company’s sales pitch.
“My biggest concern tonight is that we’ve only heard from you. This essentially, coming from you, was a dog and pony show,” Morrison said during the town hall. “There are things that you said that are easily rebuttable. That’s very, very bothersome to me. It’s also bothersome for me that you were asked some very basic questions which you could not or would not answer.”
A number of residents said they were also concerned how the project might impact local wildlife, such as bird and bat populations. Many expressed frustrations after the company would not promise during the town hall to commit to hiring Delaware-based union workers.
Democratic state Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, who co-hosted the meeting, said she was dissatisfied with what she heard during the town hall and called on the county council to reject the proposal.
“For one, using Delaware contractors, that’s a big deal to the people in this room and they weren’t able to commit to that … questions around, ‘Will this impact my energy bill?’ ‘Will this affect my water bill?’ They kind of glazed over it, but they didn’t say no, and … I’m not satisfied with their answers,” she said.
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New Castle County residents have started to see changes in tax bills after the property tax reassessment.The county just wrapped up its first property reassessment in 40 years, prompted by a 2020 court-order in an education funding equity case.The county vowed to make the reassessment process revenue neutral, adjusting the tax rate to reflect the new higher values.New Castle County’s deputy director of strategic communications Kyle Grantham said this process was necessary to have property taxes reflect the current ...
New Castle County residents have started to see changes in tax bills after the property tax reassessment.
The county just wrapped up its first property reassessment in 40 years, prompted by a 2020 court-order in an education funding equity case.
The county vowed to make the reassessment process revenue neutral, adjusting the tax rate to reflect the new higher values.
New Castle County’s deputy director of strategic communications Kyle Grantham said this process was necessary to have property taxes reflect the current market.
“The goal is to, at the end of that rate adjustment, come up with the same number of actual receipts of revenue,” Grantham said. “So that way, we're not making extra money on this process. We're ending in the same spot.”
But that doesn’t mean individual tax bills will be unchanged. Some residents will see increases, others decreases and some will stay about the same.
And local school district tax rates are a separate issue.
Because of reassessment, districts can impose a tax rate increase of up to 10 percent. Several districts, including Christina and Appoquinimink, are taking the full 10 percent, increasing tax bills in those districts.
Grantham said one reason the county is addressing the changes people are seeing is because residential property values increased at a rate higher than commercial properties.
“If the county did nothing and just kept one rate for everything, well, that means that the tax burden would shift heavily into the residential space,” Grantham said. “So the county approached this by splitting the rate into a non-residential rate that's a bit higher and a residential rate that’s a bit lower.”
Grantham said he knows this is a complex process and invites constituents to bring questions to the county’s constituent services team.
“They've been really responsive,” Grantham said. “And again, [we’re] trying to make sure that we can explain this as thoroughly as possible to everybody who has a question or is affected by it. And as we get through, hopefully, the more we can educate people and the more we can help people understand why the bill looks a certain way.”
The deadline to file an appeal for the 2025 annual tax bill was March 31. Residents can file property assessment appeals in future years by filing before March 14 every year.
Delaware’s counties are also now required to do full assessments every 5 years.
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