Sound the alarm at the fire department Saturday, Dec. 2! A tsunami is aiming at the City of Rehoboth Beach, which is going to overwhelm and wash away the part-time and full-time residents of this wonderful community. The city commissioners are considering a proposal to drastically remake the electorate in the city by giving voting rights to out-of-state companies.
This radical plan, which is being rushed through, will give effective control over city affairs to more than a thousand anonymous companies. Everyone needs to come out and oppose this charter amendment at the Town Hall meeting Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., at the Fire Hall. Let's be clear about why people hold businesses and property in the form of corporations and limited liability companies: this is a valid technique to shield assets from creditors.
The City of Rehoboth Beach is a major creditor of every property owner in town, for the current and future obligations to pay city taxes and service fees. It is fiscally stupid - as well as undemocratic - to give these anonymous legal entities effective voting control over the city's affairs.
People who buy property in Rehoboth under the veil of a corporation or LLC have made a choice to shield themselves personally from the responsibilities of full participation in this community. The proper consequence of that choice is they cannot and should not be voting in city elections.
Consider, for example, how the people behind these anonymous companies easily shield themselves from personal responsibility for city taxes in at least two ways. First, if you or I fail to pay our taxes, the city will go to court against us and get a legal judgment, which will immediately affect our credit history, and will follow us for many years wherever we go. Not so for those behind these corporations and LLCs; those people are personally shielded.
Brian D. Patterson
Rehoboth Beach
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