REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -A proposal to significantly increase salaries for Rehoboth Beach’s elected officials failed to pass, pushing the issue to a future meeting in September
Commissioner Suzanne Goode had advocated for higher pay, arguing that the current salaries—unchanged since the 1990s—do not fairly compensate officials for their workload. Under her initial proposal, the mayor’s salary would have increased from $1,000 to $20,000 annually, while commissioners’ pay would have risen from $600 to $10,000.
A scaled-down motion, which would have set the mayor’s salary at $10,000 and commissioners’ pay at $5,000, was also rejected. We desperately need better people up here. Maybe if pay was higher, better candidates would apply, Goode said.
Mayor Stan Mills called these comments "very inappropriate," and some community members argued that public service should not be driven by financial incentives.
Farrah Barrow, a local resident who works in the city, voiced opposition, stating, "When somebody chooses to be the mayor or commissioner, it’s because they love the town, not for the money."
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, elected officials are not considered employees and are not entitled to minimum wage or overtime protections.
With the motion failing, the discussion has been postponed until September, leaving the debate over fair compensation for city leadership unresolved.
