By Kim Manahan Middletown Transcript Posted Aug 23, 2011 @ 03:44 PM

New Castle County Executive Paul G. Clark announced Tuesday that the government will end fiscal year 2011 in the black.

The sheriff's office took in $6.8 million this fiscal year, which helped the county government erase the projected $7 million deficit that it faced. It had budgeted only $3.5 million in revenues, but nearly doubled this.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the sheriff’s revenue was described as “seismic chart” on Tuesday after earthquake tremors shook the City/County Building in Wilmington. That’s because of a vast change in revenue between October 2010 and January.

The additional $2.8 million from the sheriff's sales, coupled with $1.4 million from a large, one time real-estate transaction brought in $3.2 million in unanticipated revenue, said County Communications Director Jim Grant.

The county’s sewer facilities fund, which accounts for almost 30 percent of the budget, also ended the 2011 fiscal year with enough revenue to cover its operating costs, said Chief Financial Officer Ed Milowicki.

The county’s budget for 2012 is $16 million, but officials said they hope to bring in close to $17 million.

There will be no tax increases, said Councilman Bob Weiner (R-Brandywine West).

“The tax payers have faced an onslaught of increased fees and taxes at every level of government so it is incumbent upon us as public servants to explore every alternative in cost cutting measures before we ask to balance the budget on the backs of the taxpayers,” he said.

Despite the county’s stabilized budget for 2011 and 2012, Clark said that New Castle County continues to face projected deficits for fiscal year 2013 and beyond.

“We’ve done the hard work of balancing our FY ‘11 and FY ‘12 budgets, but there’s still much work to be done to ensure the long-term financial health of the county,” he said.

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