Sussex Co. property reassessment appeal period ends with minimal, less than 1%, disputes

After years of anticipation and preparation, Sussex County’s property reassessment process has concluded with minimal controversy.

As of March 31, the deadline for property owners to appeal their updated assessments, fewer than 800 appeals were submitted—less than 1% of the nearly 200,000 residential and commercial properties in the county.

“We did think since there hasn’t been a reassessment done in 50 years that appeals would be much higher,” said Gina Jennings, finance director for Sussex County. “We did not have a number in mind, but we can say that 1% was definitely lower than expected. In fact, when we saw the appeals were lower than expected, we decided to post a second notice in the papers along with announcements on social media and during a Council meeting as the deadline was approaching.”

The reassessment, which was initiated as part of a 2021 legal settlement, aimed to bring property values in line with current market rates as of July 1, 2023.

The NAACP of Delaware and Delawareans for Educational Opportunity filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming the lack of consistent reassessments had denied adequate funding for Delaware schools, particularly those serving disadvantaged students.

Among other requirements, the decision of that lawsuit required Delaware to conduct property reassessments.

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Sussex residents were the last to receive their property reassessment letters in the mail.

Despite initial concerns about potential backlash, the vast majority of property owners did not contest their new assessments.

“We do feel that our numbers were low due to the outreach and educational efforts we made,” Jennings said. “Along with presentations in the community since the start of the project, we did multiple presentations to County Council that gave incremental updates up to the point the assessment values were turned over to the County from Tyler Technologies. These presentations were supplemented with news releases to help get the word out.”

She also pointed to the creation of a reassessment webpage with various information including three short informational videos to help explain the process.

“We also posted and advertised these videos on social media,” she said. “Lastly, we created a tax calculator to give property owners the ability to estimate their taxes for the upcoming tax bill in August. We felt it was important that property owners understood that even though their property assessment values went up 19 times that their property taxes were not.”

County Administrator Todd F. Lawson expressed confidence in the process, noting that only about 1% of properties were challenged.

“The owners of 99 out of 100 parcels apparently saw no reason to contest, which speaks volumes about the fairness of the assessment,” Lawson said.

He credited the successful completion of the project to the dedicated efforts of Finance Director Gina Jennings and Assessment Director Chris Keeler, as well as the patience of the public.

The reassessment process was part of a broader effort to update property values in a way that aligns with current real estate trends.

The next step in the process is for Sussex County Council to adjust the property tax rate to ensure that the county remains “revenue neutral.”

This adjustment will be reflected in the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget, set to be adopted in late June, and will appear on tax bills mailed out in August.

The appeal rate was also lower than expected in Kent County.

For more information about the reassessment project, click here.

This marks the close of a lengthy reassessment process that has drawn little opposition, signaling a smooth transition for Sussex County property owners as the new assessments are finalized.