NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - A state panel is updating Delaware's official government revenue estimate as lawmakers prepare to begin drafting a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Monday's meeting of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council comes one day before the legislature's Joint Finance Committee begins a two-week series of bill drafting sessions.
The council's current revenue estimate for this year is $44 million higher than its December estimate. The revenue estimate for fiscal 2019, which starts July 1, has increased by almost $51 million since December.
The increases are mostly due to higher projections for personal income tax revenue and abandoned property collections.
Democratic Gov. John Carney has proposed a $4.25 billion operating budget for next year, a 3.5 percent increase over this year.
