Rehoboth hashes out workplace civility code

In an attempt to increase the amount of respect and professionalism in the work place, and at city meetings, Rehoboth Beach commissioners approved a new section of code related to civility in the workplace during a meeting July 18.

Human Resources Director Jean Lee said the purpose of the new code is to remind everybody to work civilly with each other. She said there were thoughts about having it only in the employee handbook, but ultimately it needs to be in code because it carries more weight.

There was little discussion on the implementation of the code for employees. Instead, discussion centered around how the code would be applied to commissioners.

There were no examples of incivility among employees provided, but the new code comes two weeks after Mayor Stan Mills, Commissioner Suzanne Goode and City Solicitor Lisa Borin Ogden got into a shouting match over an ongoing lawsuit against the city for hiring City Manager Taylour Tedder.

Goode said she had concerns there was no definition of what rude or uncivil behavior actually is, which could be used by the mayor to sideline discussions. Sometimes there needs to be a little conflict to achieve anything, she said.

Commissioner Craig Thier said he was generally OK with the new code, but wanted to make sure employees and commissioners were delineated into two different groups. When it comes to commissioners, there are going to be certain rules that don’t apply because there are going to be issues that commissioners are passionate about, he said. 

Citing unnamed examples of commissioners calling city employees names, Mayor Stan Mills said the new code was a good start, but he didn’t think it went far enough. What can be done when there are people who don’t respect the gavel or the process? he asked.

Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski, who chairs the city’s personnel committee, said other than class-protected harassment, city code is silent on employees and commissioners acting disrespectful or belligerent. The state’s handbook was reviewed for guidance, he said.

In no way is this being done to stop passionate discussion, said Chrzanowski. This is about accountability for city employees and commissioner interactions with those same employees, he said.

Property owner Collins Roth said commissioners should be careful about implementing something like this because it’s handing the next group a loaded gun.

“When the gavel is passed, all of a sudden it becomes the interpretation of the person with the gavel,” said Roth. 

Property owner Steve Ellis said he thought the application of this code to commissioners could be dangerous. Citizens want aggressive, forceful debate, he said.

“Commissioner Goode should be able to advance her position aggressively with her true concerns, and that should be respected by the majority,” said Ellis. “This is something that can be used, very easily, by the majority to force Commissioner Goode to shut up. And I, for one, want to encourage Commissioner Goode to speak up.”