REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — The Rehoboth Beach City Commissioners met Monday to affirm the appointment of Taylour Tedder as the new city manager, a decision unanimously supported by the board but met with vocal public opposition.
The commissioners discussed the qualifications required for the city manager role, outlined in Section 17 of the city charter. Mayor Stan Mills backed Tedder’s appointment, citing his extensive experience in community management as aligning with the city's needs.
However, the approval has faced scrutiny from the community, particularly regarding his $250,000 salary, $50,000 for moving expenses, and a $750,000 housing loan that will be forgiven if Tedder stays for seven years.
At Monday's meeting, local Bill Broydrick questioned if Tedder's qualifications are in line with Rehoboth's charter's requirements.
"The matter is the current charter requires in statute in the charter, that the city manager be a professional engineer or have four years of service as a city manager," Broydrick told commissioners. "That is not true of the person that you have unanimously voted to hire."
Cynthia Broydrick criticized the city's management and a proposed mortgage relief program, saying in part:"The missteps is the management of this facility and of the whole city. It's time to take a deep breath," she said." [The] uproar is about your mortgage relief program that you're trying to install here."
During Monday's meeting, Mayor Stan Mills stated he stood by Tedder's hiring and is confident in Tedder's ability to move the city forward. Mills previously told CoastTV that Tedder's salary was $90,000 more than his predecessor because they couldn't find anyone to take the job.
Some locals like Jim Johnson stated they are optimistic for Tedder, but believe many mistakes had been made in the hiring process and it was poorly managed. Despite the controversies, Tedder’s start date is set for May 15.