New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northern-most county of the three counties in the state of Delaware. As of 2000 its population was 500,265. The county seat is Wilmington.

This county is part of the Delaware Valley area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,278 km² (494 mi²). 1,104 km² (426 mi²) of it is land, and 174 km² (67 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 13.62% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 500,265 people, 188,935 households, and 127,153 families residing in the county. The population density is 453/km² (1,174/mi²). There are 199,521 housing units at an average density of 181/km² (468/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 73.12% White, 20.22% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.22% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. 5.26% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 188,935 households out of which 32.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.60% are married couples living together, 13.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% are non-families. 25.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.50% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.56 and the average family size is 3.09.

In the county the population is spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $52,419, and the median income for a family is $62,144. Males have a median income of $42,541 versus $31,829 for females. The per capita income for the county is $25,413. 8.40% of the population and 5.60% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.20% of those under the age of 18 and 7.40% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Government

Executive

The county is headed by a County Executive, who is elected to a maximum of two, four-year terms. The incumbent is Christopher A. Coons, a former County Council President. The Chief Administrative Officer is the County Executive's second-in-command, who is appointed by the County Executive and serves at his or her pleasure. The current CAO is David Singleton, a former Delaware Secretary of Finance.

Legislative

The county's legislative body is a thirteen-member County Council, consisting of twelve members elected by district and one President elected at large. Each County Council member is limited to two, four-year terms.

New Castle County Council doubled in size to thirteen from seven members in 2004.

The current President is Paul Clark (D). The current County Council members are:

• District 1: Joe Reda (D)
• District 2: Robert S. Weiner (R)
• District 3: William J. Tansey (R)
• District 4: Penrose Hollins (D)
• District 5: Karen Venezky (D)
• District 6: Patty W. Powell (D)
• District 7: George Smiley (D)
• District 8: John J. Cartier (D)
• District 9: Timothy P. Sheldon (D)
• District 10: Jea P. Street (D)
• District 11: David L. Tackett (D)
• District 12: Bill Bell (D)

Further information can be found at: http://www.newcastlecountycouncil.org

Judiciary

As with Delaware's other two counties, New Castle County has no judiciary of its own. All judicial functions, with the exception of Alderman's Courts, are managed and funded by the State of Delaware.

In New Castle County, only the cities of Newport and Newark have Alderman's Courts. These Courts have jurisdiction over driving offenses, misdemeanor criminal charges, and minor civil claims.

Row offices

The County retains the concept of "row offices" from Pennsylvania, so-called because all of these county offices could be found in a row in smaller courthouses. In Delaware, these offices are Recorder of Deeds, Sheriff, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Peace, and Register in Chancery.

The office of Clerk of the Peace is unique among the 50 states; the office-holder's function is almost exclusively to perform marriages. The current incumbent is Kenneth W. Boulden, Jr. (D)

The Register of Chancery is the Clerk of the Court of Chancery. This office is scheduled to be taken over and funded by the State of Delaware in the near future. The incumbent is Dianne M. Kempski (D)

The Sheriff has virtually no law-enforcement powers, but rather exists to serve legal process and levy and sell property in satisfaction of judgments. The current Sheriff is Michael P. Walsh (D)

The Recorder of Deeds is Michael Kozikowski (D). His office is responsible for receiving and recording deeds, mortgages and satisfactions thereof, assignments, commissions of judges, notaries, and military officers. The Recorder of Deeds' office is heavily computerized; electronic images of all recent documents and many others are available the office is in the process of imaging further back with the eventual goal of all documents in the office's possession being available electronically. Computerized indexing and searching is also available. [1]

The Register of Wills is Diane C. Streett, Esquire. Her office receives and records wills and small-estate affidavits upon an individual's death, and issues letters of administration to estate executors.

Zoning and public works

New Castle County has a strong zoning code, known as the Unified Development Code, or UDC. The UDC was shepherded (some would say forced through) by the Gordon Administration in response to public perception of over- and misdevelopment in the county. New building projects must go through an arduous process of application and approval before construction is permitted to begin.

By operation of state law, New Castle County has no responsibility whatsoever for maintenance of roadways. Public roadways are maintained exclusively by the Delaware Department of Transportation, while roadways within neighborhoods and developments are, pursuant to County code, maintained by homeowner's or neighborhood associations.

The Department of Special Services maintains essential infrastructure elements such as sewers, water mains, and the like. It also maintains County-owned parks and recreation departments.

Municipalities

Like the rest of the State of Delaware, New Castle County has relatively few incorporated areas. This stands in stark contrast to neighboring Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where townships, towns, and cities form a virtually continuous patchwork of municipalities.

Most incorporated areas have home rule and are free to enact their own city and building codes, and set their own election dates.

Neighborhoods and developments

Delaware, and particularly New Castle County, may be unique in that one is often first asked what neighborhood they hail from before the name of their town or city. This is likely due in large part to the relative dearth of incorporated areas in the county.

Neighborhoods and developments are prominently marked on state maps, and most have state-erected markers signifying their entrances. Significantly, Delaware driver's licenses list the licensee's neighborhood or development as well as the actual street address.

Incorporated cities and towns

• Arden
• Ardencroft
• Ardentown
• Bellefonte
• Clayton (part of Clayton is in Kent County)
• Delaware City
• Elsmere
• Middletown
• New Castle
• Newark
• Newport
• Odessa
• Smyrna (part of Smyrna is in Kent County)
• Townsend
• Wilmington

Unincorporated communities and census-designated places

• Bear
• Brookside
• Claymont
• Collins Park
• Christiana
• Edgemoor
• Glasgow
• Greenville
• Hockessin
• Minquadale
• Montchanin
• North Star
• Ogletown
• Pike Creek
• Rockland
• Stanton
• Wilmington Manor
• Winterthur

See Also

Delaware Wilmington, Delaware

External links

• New Castle County webpage
• Delaware Map Data