REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - Two Rehoboth Beach residents have filed a lawsuit against city officials demanding they cancel the employment agreement with new City Manager Taylour Tedder.
According to court documents acquired by WBOC, Rehoboth homeowners Steven Linehan and Thomas Gaynor filed the suit against Rehoboth Mayor Stanley Mills and the Board of Commissioners over the hiring of Tedder, which they say violated the City’s charter.
Tedder’s compensation package has been an ongoing point of contention between neighbors and city officials, including 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.
Tedder previously served as the city manager of Boulder City, Nevada.
“This case seeks to remedy an abuse of power by public servants elected to serve the people of the City of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,” the suit reads. “Here, the breach has resulted in the City and its citizens being saddled with an illegal and outsized public contract resulting from multiple violations of Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §10001, et seq. (“FOIA”), violation of the Charter of Rehoboth Beach (the “Charter”), and illegal use of municipal funds.”
This summer, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office ruled the City of Rehoboth Beach had violated FOIA laws in their hiring of Tedder. In order to avoid court intervention, the City held a public hearing on July 8th to ratify Tedder’s contract, despite heated debate from the public.In so doing, Gaynor and Linehan claim city officials ignored their constituents’ concerns in their suit.
The suit further argues that Tedder’s hire is illegitimate according to the Rehoboth charter, which requires “a degree in engineering from an approved college or university, or shall have served as City Manager of some other incorporated municipality for a period not less than four (4) years or shall have had practical engineering experience for a period of not less than four (4) years.” Tedder, Gaynor and Linehan argue, does not meet the necessary requirements.
The City initially discussed amending the charter, but tabled the discussion to allow more time for deliberation and discussion.
Filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery Thursday, August 15th, Linehan and Gaynor’s lawsuit seeks injunctive relief against the city and Tedder’s contract to be rescinded. The plaintiffs also ask the court to require the $1,050,000 compensation package be refunded to the city, along with $250,000 for each additional year of Tedder’s employment contract.
A spokesperson for Rehoboth Beach tells WBOC the City has not yet received service of the filing as of Friday afternoon. The City's legal team will fully review the suit once received.