REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - The City of Rehoboth Beach finds itself in the midst of a contentious debate following the decision to hire Taylour Tedder as the new city manager. The debate includes the hefty salary offered to Tedder, who currently serves as the city manager of Boulder City, Nevada.
Tedder's compensation package includes an annual salary of $250,000, $50,000 for move-in assistance, and a $750,000 housing loan that will be forgiven if Tedder remains with the city for seven years.
Mayor Stan Mills defended the decision, citing Tedder's qualifications and the town's two-year struggle to fill the city manager position.
"We had candidates that we interviewed that rose to the top, but unfortunately they were courted away by other municipalities, and a lot of those top candidates withdrew their applications citing concerns about salary and affordable housing," Mills explained.
"For us he had extraordinary qualifications, he rose to the top, and we wanted to act quickly" he continued, "we wanted to give him a sufficient compensation package so he would come to us and not go elsewhere."
However, the substantial financial commitment has raised concerns among residents, especially as the city has recently raised both property taxes and parking fees to meet their proposed $38.6 million dollar budget.
"I have a lot of questions, quite frankly, why is the city spending lavishly when it's been crying poor on other issues?" said Rehoboth neighbor Diane Wolf. "It's not adding up to me, I don't recall any notice going out what the community felt about this." she added.
Another concern some residents argue is that Tedder does not meet the qualifications outlined in the city charter for the city manager position.
The charter stipulates a requirement of a four-year engineering degree and four years of city management experience.
"The city, mayor, and council members did all of us an injustice by not adhering to the charter and the qualifications that are set forth. My biggest concern is that if the mayor is gonna just change the city charter, why didn't he change it for everyone else? Not just this one guy." said Russell Keys of Rehoboth Beach.
Mayor Mills said they are aware of the issue, but doesn't foresee any changes to the hire,
“This past Friday we introduced some charter changes, and one of those is to reflect on any changes to the city manager qualifications - so we put that in motion, but I think we are a bit behind the gun on that.” said Mills.
In a statement to WBOC, Tedder said
"As a local government manager, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the community in Rehoboth Beach. I am dedicated to improving the quality of life for residents, business owners, and visitors through innovative approaches to projects while preserving the community's character. I am excited to put down roots in the area for a long time and work on issues important to the City Commission. My annual review was held in public last month, where I received outstanding marks from all members of the City Council in Boulder City, with positive comments from staff and the public as well. My experience and dedication to public service will, I believe, make a positive impact on the community."
Tedder is slated to begin his tenure as Rehoboth Beach's city manager on May 15th.
