The following letter was sent to Rehoboth Beach Mayor and Commissioners, with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.
At the November workshop, I raised several questions regarding the proposal to extend voting privileges to artificial entities, namely:
• How many LLCs are currently in the city? I've heard more than 300.
• Fenwick Island and Henlopen Acres have been cited by Mayor Kuhns as examples of towns that allow entity voting. How do the number of LLCs/AEs in those towns compare to Rehoboth? Also, how do those towns compare to Rehoboth as far as their commercial and residential makeup?
• Have those towns held elections since artificial entities were given the right to vote? If so, how did they administer that process and what were the costs?
• Importantly, how will expanding voting rights to LLCs benefit the city and its residents?
To date, I haven't seen answers to any of these questions.
LLCs by their very nature are difficult to administer. They can be set up easily, and their members can be changed easily. They offer protections for their members that full-or part-time residents do not enjoy.
It will be an administrative nightmare for the city staff to review the documentation that will be required to ensure the process will not be abused, not to mention the costs for legal help with that review during each election.
Artificial entities/LLCs are not allowed to vote in county, state or federal elections - why would the city open this Pandora's box? What potential benefits for the city could justify this dramatic change? This proposal will have far-reaching implications which can adversely affect the makeup of the city as we know it.
Until these questions and many others like them are answered, I ask you to vote no on the proposed legislation to expand voting rights to LLCs.
Like commissioners in the past when they imposed height restrictions on the Boardwalk, please have the courage to do the right thing for the city.
Lorraine Zellers
Rehoboth Beach