Addressing a room full of local business owners, Rehoboth Beach City Manager Taylour Tedder spent about 15 minutes of a 20-minute talk highlighting a number of initiatives he’s undertaken in the five months since taking over. The vision is to elevate everything the city already has, he said.

Speaking Sept. 10 at the Cultured Pearl on Rehoboth Avenue, Tedder was the featured guest at the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce’s first meeting since its installation luncheon May 8. Tedder took over as city manager a few days later – May 15.

He began by briefly introducing himself. Reading the room, he said he understood the struggles and sacrifices small business owners make because his dad owned a catering business. His dad started the business in 2001, and he worked those catering events, doing everything from dishes to waitering, said Tedder.

Moving to the meat of his talk, Tedder said he’s been talking with different organizations throughout the city, and one of the issues he consistently hears about is improving the process with building and licensing by getting everyone on the same page. This garnered a few claps from the crowd.

Immediately prior to his arrival, the city conducted an internal processes study and found that everybody was doing everything a little differently, he said. The city is getting its processes in order, he said.

“If that doesn’t work, then we’ll change everything,” he said. 

Improving the building and licensing process isn’t Tedder’s only initiative, as he said he’s also working to improve city communication and about to undertake the creation of a strategic plan.

On the communication side, Tedder said the city is going to start including a quarterly newsletter as part of the utility bill and, he said, he’s striving to get all city contracts on the city website.

“It’s a matter of transparency,” said Tedder.

As for the strategic plan, Tedder, as he’s explained before, said it’s different from the city’s comprehensive development plan because it’s not state mandated and deals with more than just land development issues.

Tedder also briefly addressed a few Boardwalk initiatives that have been undertaken – the placement of pizza box-specific receptacles and the testing of all-natural mats over two dune crossings.  

Chamber members were given the opportunity to ask Tedder questions, but they were limited.

Someone wanted to know what happened to the pizza boxes that were collected on the Boardwalk. Tedder said they were recycled.

Parking revenue isn’t an initiative, but it’s always on the minds of Rehoboth’s leaders. Tedder didn’t have the specifics, but he said parking revenue this summer exceeded the projected amounts budgeted for fiscal year 2025, which began April 1.

During the budget cycle earlier this year, commissioners approved increases to parking fees across the board – meters went from $3 to $4 per hour and parking permits were increased 30%. Tedder said there were more transactions and everything went better than expected, adding that he’ll be providing the details during a future commissioner meeting.