Rehoboth city manager’s severance pay quadrupled

Despite data suggesting the change doesn’t meet best practices, Rehoboth commissioners have increased City Manager Sharon Lynn’s severance pay from three months to 12 months. The 6-1 vote to amend Lynn’s contract came during a special meeting Aug. 5.

Citing a statewide comparison study, Commissioner Lisa Schlosser said data from 20 Delaware cities show an average severance pay for city managers is four months. This is out of sync with the rest of the state and it’s not best practices, said Schlosser, insisting her comments weren’t based on Lynn’s performance.

Schlosser said the International Public Management Association for Human Resources recommends one month of severance for every year worked, not to exceed 12 months.

City Solicitor Glenn Mandalas said the city charter requires at least three months severance pay, but the commissioners can always choose to do more.

Mayor Paul Kuhns said Lynn deserved the change. The work the city manager has to do in Rehoboth is just not comparable to other cities, he said.

“Everybody has a difference of opinion on what best practices are,” he said. In an email Aug. 12, Kuhns said he also based his decision on information from various other municipalities and staff members.

During the meeting, Commissioner Pat Coluzzi agreed with Kuhns. She said city manager responsibilities for Rehoboth compared to other cities is apples to oranges.

Commissioner Toni Sharp said she thought the change was quite reasonable. She said Lynn, who was hired in 2013,  hadn’t failed the city, and she would be surprised if the severance pay was ever used.

Commissioners Richard Byrne and Steve Scheffer said they viewed each city manager as situational.

Commissioner Stan Mills said he wanted to know what would happen for the contract of the next city manager.

Mandalas said nothing in Lynn’s contract was set in stone for the next city manager, but the contract would probably be viewed as a starting point.

Prior to the vote, Schlosser continued to voice her displeasure with the change to severance pay.

“We’re basing our decision on how everyone feels, and I really have a problem doing it that way,” she said. “You’re either a high-performing organization, adopting best practices, or you do ad hoc decisions. That’s where we are right now.”

In addition to severance pay, commissioners made other changes to Lynn’s contract. Mandalas said there were changes reflecting how things currently are, and hadn’t been updated since Lynn was hired in 2013.

Some of the changes include the removal of wording saying she must work Saturdays; the number of vacation hours to 160; and an update to her annual salary, which began at $120,000 and is now approximately $136,000. Schlosser said that same comparison study shows the average salary for a city manager is $95,000 a year.

In addition to contract changes, commissioners approved a discretionary bonus for Lynn in the amount of $1,350.