Rehoboth moving forward with in-house city solicitor

Roughly six months after the previous city solicitor decided to leave the position, Rehoboth Beach officials have agreed to terms with a new city solicitor. During an April 17 meeting, commissioners voted in favor of hiring an in-house attorney at an annual salary of $200,000.

City Manager Taylour Tedder said the contract has been reviewed by the interim city solicitor and was pretty straightforward. The candidate would start Tuesday, May 27, have an annual salary of $200,000, receive a benefits package that all employees are eligible for and work a hybrid schedule, with eight to 10 days a month in the office.

Rehoboth Beach has been without a city solicitor since late October, after the former contractor – Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico – decided it no longer wanted to represent the city after nearly two decades. Over the course of the past few months, the city has conducted three interviews – one for a contractor, one for another in-house attorney candidate and the one officials have settled on.

Mayor Stan Mills said he wanted to get a new solicitor sooner rather than later. Candidates aren’t out there running to answer the call, he said.

On the change from contracted attorney to in-house, Mills said it’s all about timeliness. He said he likes the idea of being the top priority, getting phone calls answered immediately and work product done quickly.

It’s not exactly clear if the change in solicitor type – in-house versus contractor – will save the city any money. The general consensus was that it would be revenue neutral.

Commissioner Craig Thier said during the meeting that in Fiscal Year 2025, which ended March 31, the city had spent roughly $850,000 on attorneys. Of that, he continued, about $425,000 is for city commissioners, while the rest is for the planning commission and board of adjustment, which each have their own attorney.

Thier estimated that between the salary and benefits, the cost of the new attorney would be about $250,000 a year, which would mean $175,000 savings on the money spent last year. However, he said, there will be transitional and unexpected costs.

Commissioner Suzanne Goode said she was concerned about the salary because she had conducted a review of similar positions in similarly sized communities. She said her work shows that those attorneys make roughly $135,000.

Goode also said she would like to see the new attorney represent the planning commission, which was the standard in Rehoboth up until a few years ago.

Goode made three motions to modify the proposed contract, but they all failed. Two of them – a reduction of the contract to $150,000 annually and requiring the person to be in the office at least 10 days a month – failed because no one seconded them. The third motion, removing a sentence from the contract that says the attorney would be eligible for a raise after six months – failed by a 4-3 vote.

Tedder said the clause related to a review and possible raise after six months was negotiated between him and the candidate. The candidate wanted more than the $200,000 to begin with, but they were agreeable to the lower amount as long as a raise was possible after the first six months, he said.

Max Walton, who has served as the city’s interim solicitor while the search was conducted, said the contract gives the city the ability to implement a raise, but it’s not guaranteed.

Property owner Tom Gaynor, an attorney by trade, said he was concerned the city wasn’t naming the individual because it was likely to mean they didn’t have the qualifications needed to represent the city appropriately. The fact that individuals don’t want to work in Rehoboth suggests it’s time for some self-reflection, he said.

Property owner Walter Brittingham said he had concerns about costs in addition to the salary and benefits, such as the need for an assistant and a vehicle in the future.

The city declined to name the individual during the meeting. Afterward, Tedder said the city will make an official announcement at some point this week. As of deadline April 21, the name had not been released.