Delaware AG unhappy with state budget

Attorney General Matt Denn lamented the fact that none of his initiatives to reduce violent crime were funded by the General Assembly in the FY 2016 budget.

Denn apologized for not being able to do more to help those who live with the consequences of crime. His comments came via a post on his Facebook page following the legislative session that ended early Wednesday morning. 

On the day he took office in January, Denn proposed a number of steps to reduce violent crime in Delaware, especially in Wilmington. But whether it was funding for extra foot patrols in the city or adding after-school and summer programs for juveniles or other proposals, none of it was funded. 

“I recognize that it was a very tough budget year, but it would’ve been affordable and appropriate to fund at least some of what we proposed,” Denn wrote. “To the Delawareans who are living every day with the consequences of violent crime…I am sorry I wasn’t able to persuade the legislature to invest in these programs.”

The most immediate impact of the lack of funding will be to the overtime pay used to fund Wilmington’s extended foot patrols. That overtime had been paid through the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which will run out in the middle of this month.

Six months ago, Denn acknowledged an immediate need to address violent crime. “An urgency that does not wax and wane with the prior week’s headlines. It is time to get some things done,” he said in January.

That time, it seems, will have to wait.