Rehoboth board erupts on suit

For the better part of 15 months, the hiring of Taylour Tedder as Rehoboth Beach city manager has been a thorn in the side of the elected officials who made the hire.

Most recently, during a workshop July 7, a commissioner, elected after Tedder’s hiring, was gaveled down and yelled at to stop talking by the mayor and city solicitor when asking for information she feels entitled to as an elected official. Another commissioner went as far as motioning to cancel the meeting. Ultimately, the motion was withdrawn and a discussion on beach replenishment proceeded.

Tedder began working for Rehoboth Beach May 15, 2024. Among other things, his contract calls for a $250,000 annual salary, plus $50,000 in moving expenses and a $750,000 home loan that will be forgiven in full if he stays for seven years.

There’s an ongoing lawsuit filed by property owners Steven Linehan and Thomas Gaynor against the city for hiring Tedder. The city tried to get the lawsuit dismissed, but a Chancery Court judge ruled in late May that claims the city violated its charter can move forward. The judge ruled claims about Freedom of Information Act violations could not move forward.

During the recent meeting, Commissioner Suzanne Goode began to ask about the lawsuit and being left out of the loop.

Almost immediately, City Solicitor Lisa Borin Ogden loudly interrupted Goode and told the commissioner the issue wasn’t on the agenda. Goode persisted loudly, which prompted Ogden to get louder and threaten that the meeting would be canceled if Goode didn’t stop talking. Mills joined the argument by hammering the gavel in the direction of Goode. Goode continued to persist, which led to Commissioner Patrick Gossett loudly making a motion to cancel the meeting. Commissioner Francis “Bunky” Markert seconded the motion. After a bit more of the back-and-forth, Mills said Goode could make her comments during the commissioner comment portion of the meeting at the end. That calmed the storm, and the motion was withdrawn.

After the argument ended, Mills and Ogden allowed Gossett to thank city staff and emergency personnel for the great job they did in pulling off a safe fireworks display July 5. This topic was also not on the agenda, but Gossett wasn’t asked to wait until the end of the meeting.

Goode took the chance to vent at the end of the meeting. She said she had heard from a former commissioner that the city had been presented with a settlement offer. She said she has concerns that those commissioners involved in the lawsuit who were commissioners when Tedder was hired – Mills and Gossett – have a conflict of interest and are continuing to defend a bad decision with taxpayer money.

The meeting ended immediately following Goode’s comments.

Following the meeting, the Cape Gazette reached out to Mills and Ogden. Specifically, they were asked why a city employee took the reins of a commissioner meeting and yelled at an elected official; if this was going to be how things operate in the future; and about the optics of having an argument related to a commissioner discussing an item not on the agenda and then allowing another commissioner to immediately go into comments on another subject instead of at the end of the meeting also.

Those questions went unanswered, but both officials provided statements.

Mills said Commissioner Goode speaks forcefully, freely and often out of turn. The solicitor is assisting the board by trying to address commissioners when an item is out of order, and working to help provide more consistency and structure to meetings, he said.

Ogden said, in the moment, she let her frustration get the better of her.

“It was not exactly a shining example of professional decorum,” said Ogden. “It’s safe to say that wasn’t my finest hour. And, it is not representative of how I aim to serve the board. I am committed to serving the city in the highest and best professional manner possible.”

As of press deadline July 10, Goode said she had not received the information she was seeking. And, she said, while she continues to believe Tedder should be providing continued updates on the lawsuit, she’s not sure if she will bring up the issue during city manager comments or commissioner comments.

Beyond the argument, Mills said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit and the notion of a viable, potential settlement, but he provided how much money the city has spent so far defending itself – $149,016.35.

Gaynor also declined to comment on the lawsuit. However, he did point to a meeting this time last year when, in front of the room, he said to Mills he wouldn’t sue the city if Mills resigned.

Mills didn’t. The lawsuit was filed a month later.

When asked, Mills said he has no intention of resigning.