Rehoboth Beach city manager resigns after eight months

After less than a year on the job, Rehoboth Beach City Manager Laurence Christian has announced he is stepping down, effective Nov. 3. He began working for the city in January.

According to a press release from the city Sept. 6, Christian has resigned because of unforeseen personal family matters.

“The City of Rehoboth Beach is an exceptional community and place to work,” said Christian, in a prepared statement. “I feel truly blessed to have had a small role in moving this organization forward, and working with an amazing board of commissioners and city staff. However, I must put my family first.”

In an email shortly after the resignation was announced, Christian said he and his wife had been contemplating this decision recently. He declined to expand on the family situation, other than confirm his decision to leave is indeed based on personal family reasons.

“My family's needs have evolved, and I need to prioritize them,” said Christian.

Mayor Stan Mills said he and his fellow commissioners found out about Christian’s decision during an executive session Sept. 5.

“It was a shock to everybody and certainly a surprise, but we realize family concerns had to take priority,” said Mills, adding that he couldn’t expand on what the family issues were because Christian didn’t offer any additional details. “He did not share any of that.”

Christian came to the city from Bethel Park, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh, where he had been municipal manager since 2019. His family, who had stayed in Pennsylvania so his kids could finish out the school year, had just recently moved to the area.

The departure from Rehoboth does mean a change in his family's circumstances, and options for the future are actively being evaluated, said Christian.

“Our primary focus remains on what is best for our family, and we will make decisions that align with our needs and priorities,” he said.

Christian replaced former City Manager Sharon Lynn, who stepped down in May 2022 after nearly a decade on the job.

His resignation means for the third straight budget cycle, the city will have to prepare the next year’s budget with its top leadership position in flux. The city’s budget runs April 1 to March 31. City staff begins preparing department needs for the next year in November and December. Lynn announced she was leaving in early 2022 and stayed on long enough for last year’s budget to get through. Christian took over in January, and while he participated in all the city’s budget meetings for the current fiscal year, he was still familiarizing himself with his duties.

Mills, who went unchallenged in this year’s election and will be sworn in for a second term as mayor during a meeting later this month, said the past couple budgets have gone smoothly; he expects it to be the same for next year’s budget.

Assistant City Manager Evan Miller took on city manager responsibilities while the city looked for Lynn’s replacement. Mills said it was too early to know if Miller will do the same while the city looks for Christian’s replacement.

Mills said Christian is a professional and wanted to make sure the city had enough time to start the search for his replacement, and to try to wrap up a few initiatives.

“He had a lot of irons in the fire,” said Mills. “Laurence is leaving a very good impression with the board of commissioners. It’s very disappointing.”