New Rehoboth Beach City Manager Taylour Tedder is three months into the job.
Tedder oversees ongoing projects like the repaving of Rehoboth Avenue in coordination with DelDOT, wastewater treatment facility upgrades and launching a new city website.
The new Beach Patrol Headquarters is still under construction, and Tedder says the completion date remains May 2025. The building will include a public comfort station with restrooms, water fountains and an information desk.
Tedder is also considering having an open finance portal for the city.
“Kind of like an open checkbook, so people could see: here's the expenses of the city, here's the revenue coming in, and they could see it in real time,” Tedder said.
Tedder’s hiring process was contentious. The Delaware Department of Justice found the city violated the Freedom of Information Act in June. The violation led to a FOIA-compliant special meeting where the city’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Tedder’s contract even though public comment was largely disapproving.
Tedder hopes to turn that around.
“Moving forward, I want to make sure that we're communicating any kind of process or data that we can with the public,” Tedder said. “I think over communicating is always better than under communicating.”
Tedder stressed transparency is one of his priorities as city manager and he wants to keep an open dialogue with residents. He plans to begin a monthly video series called "Tedder Talks," where he will look at issues and people impacting the city.
