Rate increase coming to hire off-duty Rehoboth police

Beginning Jan. 1, the hourly rate for organizations looking to hire an off-duty Rehoboth Beach police officer for an event will increase 12.5 percent.

During a Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk and Beach Committee meeting Nov. 30, Police Chief Keith Banks said the pay rate to hire an off-duty police officer, with a three-hour-minimum, will increase from $65 an hour to $75. The total per-hour cost will now be $90, up from $80. Banks brought up the new rate during a brief committee discussion about all the man-hours it takes for the city to safely host and then clean up after events throughout the year.

The additional $15 an hour, on top of the person hours, goes to the city for insurance, fuel and overall use of the city vehicle, said Lynne Coan, city spokesperson, in an email Dec. 2. She said the three-hour-minimum is not a new requirement.

Coan said there were about 40 special events requiring extra-duty officers in 2021. Keep in mind, she said, several events were canceled, mostly in early spring, because of COVID.

Banks said the increase for personnel is a negotiated part of the police union’s contract with the city. When the job is completed, the city bills the party who retained the services, and the officer is paid through normal payroll with regular deductions, he said.

The last rate increase took place in 2018, when it went from $55 to $65, said Banks.

Rehoboth’s rate for hiring off-duty officers and using police vehicles is similar to other local jurisdictions.

To hire a Delaware State Police trooper, it costs $78 per hour for the officer, $18 per hour for a vehicle, plus a 4 percent administrative cost. The minimum time for hiring a state trooper is one and a half hours.

In Lewes, said Chief Thomas Spell, police officers receive double their regular hourly rate and there is a three-hour minimum. 

The hiring of an off-duty officer isn’t the only cost to remember when planning an event in Rehoboth. The city passed a special events ordinance in 2018 that calls for an advance request of eight weeks. There is a nonrefundable $50 processing fee and a $550 deposit that, depending on the city services required, may be returned. The ordinance also says special events of significant size or scope may require an additional fee.

The special events ordinance also allows the city manager to require, as a condition of issuing the permit, that the applicant deposit $2,500 if the city manager concludes that the estimated cleanup cost after the special event will exceed $2,500.