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AUGUST 15, 2025
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Indian River, Cape tax rates remain among the county’s lowest
Volume 22, Issue 33
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Is that made out of cheese?
By Laura Walter Staff Reporter When Delaware counties reassess property values, local governments must also adjust the tax rate in order to maintain roughly the same amount of revenue. School districts have the rare assessment-year opportunity to increase their base rate (not the total rate) by up to 10 percent. The Indian River and Cape Henlopen school districts have always had some of the lower rates in the county, in part because they have very high property values and large geographic areas, so every penny of tax rate tends to collect more dollars of revenue. It appears that that trend will continue for 20252026. This summer, when the IRSD Board of Education was deliberating their tax rate, one person asked how IR compared to the other districts. At the time, their finance director said it was hard to say, because every district was considering whether to take advantage of the rare opportunity to add the optional 10 percent, as allowed by state law. Additionally, every district has different situSpecial to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
See TAXES page 4
This pirate in Bethany Beach appears quite enamored with the moon, and possibly for a cracker to go with it.
South Bethany opts not to restrict tents on beach, for now By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Tents and other shelters on the beach in South Bethany won’t be regulated by a town ordinance, but beachgoers will be asked to practice etiquette, and to not block others’ views of the ocean or present safety hazards. The South Bethany Town Council made that decision at their Friday, Aug. 8, meeting, with Mayor Edie Dondero saying polite practices will be encouraged in postings on bulletin boards and in e-mails while the town manager and staff “continue to monitor the situation.”
At the council’s July meeting, Councilman Bob Shields had started the discussion, but he was out of the country and not able to attend last week’s meeting. Dondero said town officials have received considerable feedback about the matter, with about half of those responding calling for the Town to pass an ordinance regulating shelters and the other half saying it isn’t necessary. “They are pretty evenly split down the middle,” the mayor said, adding that the Charter & Code Committee was asked to compile potential regulations. Councilman Mark Giler, a member of that committee, said the rules in place in other towns were considered, but that
many who complained about shelters were referring specifically to how many they saw during the Fourth of July weekend. Councilman Randy Bartholomew objected to passing an ordinance and instead suggested beach etiquette be emphasized. Dondero said that, while large tents are annoying, they are not a public safety or health matter. “This is a town government. This is not a homeowners’ association. This is not a civic organization, and we do not address annoyances. … Other towns have different issues than we do, so while other towns have ordinances
against tents and cabanas, they have different issues. We are one of the least crowded beaches. … There are a couple weeks in July when beach space is at a premium. “As much as we may not like it, this is a public beach. This is a not a private beach. … Public funds are spent to maintain our beach. We have to accommodate the public. It doesn’t mean we have to accommodate things that are dangerous,” she said. Dondero said she dislikes hearing music playing when she’s at the beach, because she likes to listen to the sound See TENTS page 3