Rehoboth Beach city manager Taylour Tedder, who was hired in May of last year, declined a merit pay raise that could have been up to 3 percent.
The hiring process is the center of some controversy, including a lawsuit alleging the city violated its charter.
Some Rehoboth Beach residents have voiced their disapproval of Tedder’s compensation package, which includes a $250 thousand salary and an interest-free $750 thousand housing loan that will be forgiven if he remains in the position for seven years.
Tedder said those public discussions played a role in his decision to pass on a raise.
“I wanted to be sensitive to public perception and thought that it would create some goodwill within the community to forego that,” Tedder said.
Had Tedder accepted a raise, Rehoboth’s commissioners would have evaluated Tedder and determined how much of a raise he would have received.
“If someone's getting a 3 percent [raise], they're walking on water,” Tedder said. “They're doing amazing, really innovating, going above and beyond. 2 percent is kind of that next level where they're taking initiative, doing a lot more than their job description entails. And then 1% would be basically meeting expectations. So, it really does kind of reward those top performers and definitely keeps them here.”
The city offers employees merit pay raises each year depending on performance.
Tedder said merit pay raises motivate people and support the city’s goal of recruitment and retention. He added when it comes to his performance, he wants to relay his achievements without a raise.
“We achieved over $1 dollars in department line item savings,” Tedder said. “A lot of people also are unaware that we had a $6 million surplus in this past year. Lots of different things. We've really been making great progress as a team, and so I'm really looking forward to my next year.”
Aside from those who are new to their jobs, the majority of city employees received a raise between 1 to 3 percent, according to Tedder.
Rehoboth’s code requires the city to perform a compensation study every three years. Tedder said regular pay increases help the city avoid a huge expense in the future and account for inflation.
