Rehoboth Beach exploring charter, code changes

Rehoboth Beach officials are considering a number of changes to the city charter, including one that would remove a hard cap on the amount of property taxes that can be collected annually, another that would increase the city’s debt ceiling limit and another that would increase the amount that can be obligated without going to a public referendum for approval.

The Delaware General Assembly is in session for six months each year – from the first week of January through June 30. State law requires municipalities seeking a change to their charter to get that change approved by the General Assembly, which means now is the time for municipal leaders across the state to discuss possible changes.

During a commissioner workshop March 10, Assistant City Manager Evan Miller presented a list of charter changes for commissioners to consider. He said he thought the turnaround on the proposed changes is a little tight for the current legislative session, but now is a good time to have the discussions and get things lined up for the next year.

The Rehoboth charter has a hard cap of $3 million that the city is allowed to collect through property taxes annually. Due to a 30% property tax increase last year, the city is near the cap – about $2.65 million. Miller suggested commissioners consider removing the dollar cap amount and replacing it with a method based on the percentage of assessed land and improvements. He also suggested putting a cap on the percentage.

Rehoboth’s charter doesn’t allow for the city to exceed $75 million in debt. Miller suggested commissioners consider another methodology to set the maximum borrowing limit of the city, such as basing the maximum on a percentage of the annual budget.

Rehoboth’s charter allows commissioners to borrow up to $6 million without going to a public referendum. Miller suggested that if commissioners make changes to the debt limit, they also consider changing that amount too.

Other proposed changes to the charter include clarifying sidewalk maintenance requirements to say it’s the property owner’s responsibility; removing wording related to a maximum fine being $500; changing the wording so that if commissioners choose to increase their salaries, the implementation of the change isn’t staggered.

Not included in the proposed changes are anything related to the qualifications of city manager, which is of interest because 11 months ago, the city announced the hiring of City Manager Taylour Tedder. Soon after his hiring was announced, citizens unhappy with the compensation package pointed out that Tedder didn’t appear to meet two of the qualifications – four years of previous city manager experience and an engineering degree – and have made that issue part of a lawsuit seeking Tedder’s termination. The city has asked for the case to be dismissed. There’s a court hearing on that request later this month.

Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski began to ask about these changes during the recent discussion, but Mayor Stan Mills cut him off and said the city has already taken a position on the subject and that the issue is part of an ongoing lawsuit.

In addition to proposed charter changes, the city is considering a significant code rewrite in the near future. There’s $100,000 included in next year’s proposed budget for the process.

The city’s building and licensing department submitted a dozen areas where it would like a change or clarification, including topic areas such as fence height, the 50% rule for non-conforming structures, outdoor shower regulations, the placement and marking of construction dumpsters, occupancy waiver renewal frequency and the fine for removing stop-work orders.

Since Miller wasn’t pushing for the changes this legislative session, there wasn’t much discussion from the commissioners. It was treated more as a listening session from staff. No timetable was set for when staff would be back to discuss possible changes further.