Rehoboth Beach commissioners began their budget hearings for the next fiscal year Jan. 19 by reviewing requests from nonprofits asking for contributions from the city.

There are four organizations seeking funding – Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company requested $200,000; Rehoboth Beach Public Library requested $75,000; and Rehoboth Beach Main Street and Rehoboth Beach Museum each requested $60,000.

Rehoboth’s fiscal year runs April 1 to March 31. This is the first year nonprofits were required to fill out an application form and submit a number of documents. In the past, it was an informal process. Pointing to the application from the fire company that was hundreds of pages long, Mayor Stan Mills began the discussion by saying there might need to be some changes made to the process.

Going in order, the fire department started the meeting. Their request is a $50,000 increase over last year. 

Deputy Chief Kent Swarts said they’re bound and determined to remain a volunteer service, but costs continue to rise. He said health insurance costs are increasing and they’ve had trouble finding EMTs because other districts are paying more. As a result, he continued, they had to pay more than expected for EMTs due to overtime.

There was some support among commissioners to explore the creation of a fire protection fee of some sort.

Swarts supported the idea. He said it’s difficult to keep coming back every year begging for money.

RBVFC Vice President Warren Jones said the fire company is technically a nonprofit, but it’s different from others because it provides community safety. The fire company should be a line item in the budget every year, he said.

Commissioner Don Preston agreed, saying the fire department is an essential service and is something that people expect. It’s qualitatively different than the other organizations, he said.

Personnel costs are not the only thing increasing, said Jones, noting there’s a need for a new ambulance and renovations at the fire station on Rehoboth Avenue, and there are new trucks on the way.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street was second. President Dick Byrne said while the amount requested is the same, other fundraising efforts have increased, which means the percentage toward the overall operating budget has decreased.

This is the fifth year in a row that Main Street has asked for the same amount. With inflation, that just doesn’t go as far as it used to, said Byrne.

The library was the third organization to be questioned. The biggest issue for commissioners was whether the city’s money would stay downtown and not be used for any out-of-town expansions.

Board President Kay Wheatley stressed the city’s donation goes exclusively toward payroll and nothing else.

As part of the new application process, the city requires a strategic plan be submitted. Commissioner Toni Sharp pointed out the library’s application didn’t appear to have that plan and also said the library’s wording was a bit vague. She said 100,000-foot answers are not particularly insightful.

Commissioners finished their discussion with the museum, which did not have a representative at the meeting. It is asking for $30,000 more than last year. Mills said museum Director Heidi Nasstrom Evans was sick and there wasn’t anyone else who could speak on its behalf.

There wasn’t much discussion about the museum’s request – that will be saved for a later date. However, Sharp again pointed out that a strategic plan wasn’t included in the information packet submitted to the city. 

There were no decisions made on the requests.

Typically, during the city first budget meeting, city staff also presents commissioners with a draft budget. That didn’t happen at the Jan. 19 meeting.

Interim City Manager Evan Miller said the reason for the delay was because the city had just recently received the results of a salary and compensation study, and in response there were changes in pay for some employees. Staff was still figuring out exactly how the changes would affect the proposed budget, he said.

While a proposed budget wasn’t presented, it appears commissioners may have difficult decisions to make. During an audit committee meeting Oct. 31, Bert Dukes, city finance director, said there will be some budgeting challenges in the coming year. Staff is likely to recommend a 1% increase in the city’s rental tax during budget discussions, he said at the meeting. If an increase is implemented, it would be the first since 2018, when the tax increased from 3% to 6%.

Commissioners and staff are set to resume budget discussions at 2 p.m., Monday, Feb. 5.