Lawyer: Rehoboth city manager lawsuit should be dismissed

In response to a lawsuit filed in August seeking the termination of Rehoboth Beach City Manager Taylour Tedder’s contract, the city’s attorney has argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because commissioner actions did not violate the city charter, that commissioners have the charter-given ability to exercise broad discretion when hiring a city manager and that the lawsuit was not filed in a timely fashion.

“Plaintiffs’ complaint fails to state a claim for relief because there is no charter violation,” said the city’s attorney James McMackin, in an Oct. 18 response to Chancery Court that’s 61 pages long. “The charter clearly authorizes the board to hire a city manager, impose the necessary qualifications for city manager, and to determine the city manager’s salary. Furthermore, even if plaintiffs’ narrow interpretation of the charter was correct, plaintiffs’ claims are untimely as a matter of law and under the doctrine of laches.”

The city announced Tedder’s hiring in April; he took up his duties May 15. Among other things, his contract calls for a $250,000 annual salary, plus $50,000 in moving expenses and a $750,000 home loan that will be forgiven in full if he stays for seven years. He filled the office of former City Manager Laurence Christian, who left in early November after 10 months of employment. Christian had a salary of $160,000, with none of the additional benefits.

On behalf of property owners Steven Linehan and Thomas Gaynor, attorney Theodore Kittila filed the suit against city commissioners as a group and individually Aug. 15 in Chancery Court. 

The lawsuit is seeking to void Tedder’s contract because, Kittila argued, it was beyond the commissioners’ power to enter into an agreement that violates the city charter, and the employment agreement is an illegal use of municipal funds.

McMackin said terminating Tedder’s employment and locating a new candidate is a waste of valuable resources, and would severely prejudice the city and its citizens when the city has already hired a qualified city manager. He said far more harm would result from invalidating Tedder’s contract than would result if he remains.

“Invalidating the employment agreement would force the city to function without a city manager while utilizing additional city resources to restart the hiring process to the detriment of the city and its citizens,” said McMackin. “Furthermore, Tedder has already been employed for several months, and all initiatives and projects Tedder is implementing would be interrupted indefinitely, constituting a waste of city resources and negatively affecting city employee productivity and morale.”

The reason for plaintiffs’ delay is hollow, said McMackin. The complaint, he said, attempts to justify the delay for no reason other than plaintiffs’ desire to not have this litigation interfere with the municipal election in August.

As for qualifications, Kittila said Tedder doesn’t meet the required qualifications of four years of previous city manager experience and an engineering degree. The charter grants commissioners the discretion to add qualifications for the city manager position, but they do not have the authority to eliminate the minimum qualifications, he said.

Listing his education and professional certifications, McMackin said Tedder not only possesses impressive and applicable educational qualifications, he also has prior experience as city manager of municipalities comparable to Rehoboth. Tedder has 13 years’ experience working in city and county government, including eight years as assistant city manager for Leavenworth, Kansas, and city manager for Boulder City, Nev.

“At this point, it would be nearly impossible for the city to undo the financial transactions and expenses related to the commencement of Tedder’s employment. Furthermore, to require such action would impose a substantial hardship on defendants, constitute a waste of city resources, and be logistically impossible to enact with fidelity,” said McMackin. “Conversely, if plaintiffs had initiated an expedited lawsuit when they first found out about the employment agreement and prior to Tedder’s transcontinental relocation, the city and Tedder would have been on notice that the employment agreement could be invalidated, and the city could have been able to make informed decisions regarding delaying commencement of the employment agreement.”