Who should be allowed on Rehoboth Beach committees?

For the past few years, Rehoboth Beach has allowed nonresidents to participate as nonvoting members of city committees. It appears that’s going to end, as a majority of city commissioners have voiced their displeasure with the practice.

Mayor Stan Mills brought the issue forward during a commissioner workshop Oct. 10. He said he’s received complaints about the nonresidents voting on issues during committee meetings. People are asking why the city is allowing outsiders to tell it what to do, he said.

While not specifically forbidden in city code, the practice started under former Mayor Paul Kuhns. The argument was made for having out-of-town committee members offer skills, and since many consider Rehoboth their downtown area, they are also stakeholders in the city.

Also at the time, then-Commissioner Susan Gay questioned the practice because Rehoboth would be the only local coastal community that allows nonresidents or non-property owners on city committees.

City code allows for nonvoting members with specialized expertise. There are at least three committees with nonresident members – environment, streets and transportation, and animal issues.

Mills said he interpreted that to mean specific experts or contractors.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett said he’s in favor of removing nonresidents from city committees.

“I’m not in favor of it now and I wasn’t in favor of it at the time,” he said.

Commissioners Edward Chrzanowski and Tim Bennett acknowledged allowing nonresidents to vote during committee meetings. Chrzanowski, who has been a commissioner since Kuhns was mayor, said he’s only allowed them to vote on noncontroversial issues. Bennett, in the third year of his first term, said he inherited the practice.

Bennett and fellow Commissioners Toni Sharp and Don Preston also expressed their desire to remove nonresidents.

Commissioner Francis “Bunky” Markert didn’t fully endorse keeping the practice, but he did say nonresident, nonvoting members can still be valuable.

The second committee-related issue Mills raised for discussion was about topics of discussion. Sometimes committees seem to have different objectives than the commissioners, said Mills. Committees can consume a lot of staff time, and then they complain when topics are turned down, he said.

Sharp said she would like to see commissioners drive committee assignments. In her experience, she said, there’s often a lot of time spent talking about people’s pet issues. 

Sharp said she would also like to see committees get away from the 30-day meeting cycle and only conduct meetings on an as-needed basis. That way there doesn’t have to be a meeting unless there’s a need, she said.

“The entire committee structure needs to be revamped,” said Sharp.

In the end, no decisions were made, but the discussion is expected to continue in the future.