Commissioners in Rehoboth Beach will consider a pair of changes to the city charter that could have a big effect on the city’s budget.
At a work session this week, commissioners heard from county staff about a package of potential charter changes. Among the most controversial was a measure that, if approved, would do away with the $75 million cap on how much the city can borrow in favor of some other method. Currently, the city has about $68 million in debt. Commissioner Chris Galanty is in favor of raising the city’s debt ceiling.
“I am concerned, based on where we are with the debt ceiling and where we are with our current debt, that we could find ourselves in a circumstance where we have a very unique situation," Galanty said. "We could have a natural disaster.”
But, Commissioner Suzanne Goode, citing what characterizes as overspending, opposes the idea.
“This will just enable a continued trend to grow our budget at, many years triple the rate of inflation. So these are bad ideas on so many levels," she said.
Commissioners also argued over a proposal to increase the amount the city can take in from property taxes. Currently, that cap is $3 million, but county staff suggest replacing that flat number with a percentage-based calculation determined by commissioners.
City Manager Taylour Tedder told commissioners that having a flat dollar amount on collections would one day hamper the city.
“At some point in time, when you have a fixed number, we will hit that," Tedder told commissioners. "Over time, the assessed value of the community will increase.”
Currently the city brings in just under $2.7 million in property tax revenue.
Any charter changes would require approval from both the commission and from state lawmakers to take effect.
