Zolper looking for long tenure in Dewey Beach

For Bill Zolper, taking on the role of Dewey Beach town manager is a way of coming full circle. 

“To be able to come home here and be part of the town again is just great,” he said. “I know there’s been some turnover with town managers here, and I hope to be the town manager that stays for quite some time.”

Born in Lewes, Zolper graduated from Smyrna High. As a boy, he spent countless hours at his grandparents’ Dickinson Avenue cottage, which was in the family from 1940 until after Superstorm Sandy. His father was a town lifeguard, and both parents were active in town committees until they moved outside Dewey, Zolper said.

The town has changed a lot since its 1981 incorporation, when central water and sewer were installed and density quadrupled, Zolper said. 

“For a small town, there’s so much going on,” Zolper said, noting he’s looking forward to normalcy after the pandemic, which has caused the cancellation of many town and business events typically held year-round. 

Zolper said his first priority is getting a grasp of the town’s unique financial situation, in which revenues from property transfers and parking are fluid and sometimes unpredictable.

“The budget is the biggest thing right now,” he said. “Understanding Dewey Beach, because there’s no property tax of course, and understanding how revenue comes in and what our expenditures are, and trying to balance the budget every year making sure we’re providing a clean, safe environment for the town.”

Zolper said he has been impressed with the work of the police chief and lifeguard captain, the town’s one-man maintenance crew, code enforcement and administrative staff. He commended the town’s many volunteers, including commissioners and committee members, who work without pay to serve the town.

Previously, Zolper worked with the FBI for 23 years, heading a safe streets gang task force in Raleigh, N.C., and counterterrorism efforts in Northern Virginia after 9/11. For the past 10 years, he ran operations and investigations in Africa and the Middle East, as well as teams in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and the Horn of Africa. He was a Delaware State Police trooper and detective for more than eight years.

Zolper said he is currently building a new home just up the road from town hall that he expects to be ready in about a year.

Mayor Dale Cooke said Zolper has a three-year contract with a starting annual salary of $95,000.

“I think as a local, and as a person who obviously has kept himself up to date on town issues, he will do a wonderful job, and he will continue to develop into an even better advocate for positive progress in Dewey Beach,” Cooke said.