Rehoboth Beach looking at change in committee structure

Last month, Rehoboth Beach commissioners changed city policy to remove nonresidents from advisory committees. Now, commissioners are discussing eliminating those committees altogether in favor of one general committee.  

After hinting about changes to the overall committee structure during discussion on nonresident involvement, Commissioner Toni Sharp introduced the proposal during a workshop Nov. 6. She said a lot of the city staff’s time and energy are spent attending and preparing for these meetings. What’s the return on their time spent? she asked.

The city has five advisory committees: streets and transportation, beach and boardwalk, environment, animal issues, and trees and green infrastructure.

Sharp said a couple of recent changes spurred her to bring this forward. In addition to nonresident participation, she said committees have to get approval from commissioners to pursue specific topics, and there is also the recent implementation of Reach Out Rehoboth, the city’s new public engagement platform.

For the purpose of discussion, Sharp suggested there be one committee, that’s general in nature and made up of residents from the city’s distinct neighborhoods. It’s a simple idea that’s worked in other areas, she said.

It’s a shift from silo thinking, and it’s a more efficient way of doing things, said Sharp. It’s about a return on investment, she said.

Mayor Stan Mills didn’t straight up reject the proposal, but he did say he doesn’t like the idea of displacing 20 people who want to help the community.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett said some of the committees were likely set up at a time when the city didn’t have the staff to oversee specific parts of city government. There are now professionals on staff who are filling the voids the city had five, 10 or 15 years ago, he said.

Sometimes the committees are making the jobs of staff more difficult, said Gossett.

Without voicing an opinion one way or the other, Commissioner Don Preston said it’s possible a general committee could serve as a feeder for people interested in possibly becoming a commissioner.

Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski, who chairs the streets and transportation committee and environment committee, said he has mixed feelings on the subject.

Resident Carolyn Diefenderfer doesn’t think the proposal is a good idea. To go from five committees to one will leave people who are willing to help the town frustrated, she said.

No decisions were made at the conclusion of the discussion; however, there was a consensus to have representatives from the five committees come before commissioners to provide examples of accomplishments over the past year. The expectation is that they will make those presentations during the commissioner workshop in December.

There are a number of code- or charter-required committees and boards that are not included as part of the discussion – planning commission, board of adjustment, parks and shade tree, audit, board of elections and personnel.