Committed to the Community, Planning for the Future Thanks for your Vote
Post Election Info
Craig Thier is Earnest to Begin Work for Rehoboth Voters
The voters have chosen! Craig Thier earned the majority of votes for a total of 611 votes combining the in person and absentee votes. His first response was to ask, "When do I get sworn in so I can get to work?". It was a relief to him to know that the voters concurred with Craig that his skill set in finance, strategic planning and budgeting along with his ability to listen and communicate were seen as valuable qualifications for the City of Rehoboth Beach Commissioner's position.
Craig found the campaign to be a great experience, allowing him the opportunity to get to know residents as well as business owners in the community and to hear from them what issues they wanted addressed.
He also enjoyed participating in the RBHA Candidate Forum and providing the community with his vision and plans to help rectify some of those issues if he was elected.
Now that he has been elected, Craig will eagerly jump in on day one, determined to put his qualifications to work while transitioning onto the board. Craig will be a spectator at upcoming workshops and meetings, sitting in the audience for a few more weeks until he is sworn in at the September 20th Commissioner's meeting.
Overall, there were 1655 eligible registered voters, 662 voted in person and 495 voted absentee for a total actual votes of 1121. Craig Thier received 53% of those votes with 611 votes.
Reporter Alan Henney of the Henney Report also wrote an article on the election results which can be seen here: https://www.wgmd.com/author/alan-henney
Candidate Craig Thier Makes His Vision Clear at the RBHA For
THE FORUM VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE AT:
The Rehoboth Beach Homeowners Association hosted a Candidates Forum on Saturday, July 20th from 10:00am until 12:00pm at the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company. All four candidates vying for the two upcoming open Commissioner seats were on hand to answer the six questions put to them. The questions were formulated based on a survey sent out requesting its members to rate and provide questions on topics within Rehoboth Beach that they were most concerned about. Each candidate had an opportunity to make an opening and closing statement and stayed after the forum to answer additional questions from the voters in attendance. Craig Thier started his opening comments with "Why am I running? I am running because I am angry, frustrated and disappointed" and went on to explain those frustrations and disappointments.
The questions focused on the candidates' skills in communication, leadership, and consensus building, code enforcement, and city growth. Craig Thier pointed to his years on a NJ school board, elected to 4 3-year terms with 5 of those years as Board President to tout his extraordinary leadership and communication skills. His experience working with all stakeholders in that community to come to a consensus on building a new school also helped to clarify his abilities to get things done even when there are roadblocks and resistance along the way.
The surplus update from Friday, July 19th Commissioners' meeting had people scratching their heads on how the city could go from needing a tax increase in March, to a surplus of $1 million in May and now a surplus of $2.7 million. Craig Thier stated that his day one is to overhaul the budgeting and planning processes so the city will have visibility into any future surpluses or deficits. He looks to have a budget process that includes creating an annual budget, year 2 and 3 projections plus long term 5- and 10-year plans. Additionally, he wants the commissioners to revisit the CDP and look to see which projects need to be prioritized, and ensure they are funded.
When the question of code enforcement was brought up, Mr. Thier opposed some suggestions from some of the other candidates that money needs to be spent to get enforcement done. The inconsistency was born from a lack of processes along with an understaffed department. He feels now that the code enforcement department is fully staffed, and a city manager is in place, code will be appropriately enforced.
Mr. Thier also had a vision for what can be done to manage the growth Rehoboth Beach faces, to keep it economical, and smart. He wants the city to look at the commercial building codes which are currently inconsistent and vague, open to interpretation at times. Additionally, the city needs to develop mixed use code since most of downtown is mixed use, code that is clear, consistent and concise, easily interpreted.
If you were unable to attend the forum or need to refresh your memory on what the candidates said, please take some time to watch the video recording when it becomes available. For follow up with Mr. Craig Thier feel free to email him at thier4rbcommissioner@gmail.com
Mr. Thier thanks all who attended the forum, the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Department for supplying the venue and the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners Association for organizing and making the forum available to the candidates and the voters.
Rehoboth Beach Candidates Answer Important Questions
City’s first election in three years is scheduled for Aug. 10
Questions provided to candidates to respond to for an article in the Cape Gazette and Commissioner Candidate Craig Thier’s responses:
City Manager Taylour Tedder has recommended the creation of a strategic plan, which staff can use as a guide moving forward. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?
Craig Thier: During the July 8 city commissioner workshop, I suggested to Mr. Tedder that he should be spending the summer walking around the city speaking with residents, employees, business owners, and tourists rather than taking the opinions of consultants above the people who know Rehoboth best. I also suggested that he review the comprehensive development plan and formulate his own opinions first before soliciting outside input. Then, after meeting with staff and the public, the development of a strategic plan to hold staff and elected officials accountable is advisable.
What are your thoughts and concerns about the proposal to form a regional wastewater system with Lewes Board of Public Works and Sussex County?
Craig Thier: I support hearing the Sussex County/BPW’s detailed proposals, but until I have an opportunity to understand their detailed proposal and assumptions, I really can’t have an opinion. My thought is there might be a revenue or cost-share opportunity but, again, I need to see the details.
Should the planning commission or the city's building official have final say in determining if building plans are in compliance with city laws and regulations? Why or why not?
Craig Thier: The city’s code currently outlines the planning commission’s role in site-plan review and approvals. The city’s building officials routinely approve permits and enforce compliance on building plans outside those specified in the city code for the planning commission. I see no reason to change this process because the code clearly states who has jurisdiction in which circumstances. What I do expect is both parties, particularly city building officials who handle the majority of permits, to be well versed in the city building codes so there are no misunderstandings.
The city increased taxes and fees across the board to balance this year's budget. There are significant infrastructure improvements coming down the road, which will add millions of dollars to future budgets. How would you propose the city find the necessary revenue for those costs?
Craig Thier: In my vision for the city, I outline enhancements to the budgeting, forecasting and planning processes. These enhanced processes will provide visibility into future deficits and surpluses, allowing the city to develop plans to address these months, if not years, in advance. This must include serious discussions on the need and scope of capital projects, proposed operating expenditures and surpluses. Given the recent increases to taxes and fees across the board, as well as a FY 2024 surplus of over $1 million, it is very difficult to envision any increase in taxes and fees for FY 2026.
City staff has recommended the creation of a fund balance and net position policy. What are your thoughts on the creation of this policy and the proposed details of how it would operate?
Craig Thier: I agree that a net position policy needs to be created to essentially cap the surplus, requiring the city to either reduce taxes and fees or to issue refunds when the cap is exceeded. I believe the process of developing the policy, and possibly the policy itself, should assess what $4 million in disaster relief actually buys and how to create reserve for capital projects spanning multiple years.
Regarding beach replenishment, it appears the state is working on a plan that would see local municipalities contributing to the costs. How much should the city be required to contribute and where would this revenue come from?
Craig Thier: The city should be required to contribute $0. The state and Sussex County derive significant financial benefits from our beaches, and we should be working collectively with our county and state representatives on a long-term revenue solution to ensure continued replenishment.
Are there any other issues you're concerned about? What are they?
Craig Thier: Yes. I look forward to discussing these at the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners’ Association Candidates Forum at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 20, at the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company. I encourage all residents to attend so they can meet their candidates and learn who and what they are voting for.
Link to the full Cape Gazette July 17, 2024 article by Chris Flood
Rehoboth Beach Candidates Answer Important Questions
City’s first election in three years is scheduled for Aug. 10
https://www.capegazette.com/article/rehoboth-beach-candidates-answer-important-questions/278227ustomers
My Vision
As a full-time, twelve-month Resident of Rehoboth Beach, I believe it is critical that we maintain the charm, atmosphere, and culture of this community, while balancing the needs of our tourists and commercial partners. It is the latter two who, along with the residents, are responsible for funding the environments and services we are able to enjoy in Rehoboth Beach.
During my time as a permanent resident of Rehoboth Beach, I have found that the financial, and arguably, the administrative processes of the city are broken. Most recently, we have experienced this “brokenness” with widespread increases in every city fee and tax rate.
While these increases may have solved the short-term issue of balancing the city budget with no debt, capital expenditures are forecast to increase another $2M next year. With ordinary increases in operating expenses (i.e. salaries, benefits, and other expenses), in addition to a lifeguard station project that may be significantly over budget, we should all be anticipating another round of increases in the same city fees and tax rates that went up earlier this year.
As community members and residents of Rehoboth Beach, we deserve more and we deserve better.
What’s the Plan?
In early 2023, the city led by Mayor Mills decided to build a new lifeguard station at a cost of over $4,000,000. This decision, in a large part, created the need to increase revenue to avoid a FY 2025 budget shortfall. What I would advocate for as your Rehoboth Commissioner is an overhaul of our planning processes and accountability in creating and managing budgets. The city must adhere to a best-practice budgeting and planning cycle that includes at a minimum:
• A balanced annual budget for every fiscal year
• Two-year projected financial forecasts. For example, when creating the the FY2025 budget earlier this year, FY2026 and FY2027, financial forecasts should have been developed to include Capital Projects (CIP) and Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) items that need funding. These forecasts should include staffing and other resources not currently calculated in the CIP budget.
• The CDP Items should be reviewed annually and more frequently when necessary. This includes monitoring progress against CDP items, and if a CDP item is no longer going to be pursued, then it should be removed. (I am not suggesting updating the entire CDP annually, this would be unnecessary).
• Whenever the CIP and CDP are approved, and before any unplanned capital expenditures, all financial forecasts must be updated to provide a clear understanding of the financial impacts. If the updated financial forecasts project a deficit, the city commissioners must immediately develop a plan to resolve the deficit.
By following these processes, the city will have focus on and accountability for critical initiatives while ensuring they are properly funded. This process also provided the city insight into any anticipated deficits / surpluses, well in advance providing time to develop a plan to address them.
If these processes had been followed when the lifeguard station was considered in early 2023, the mayor and commissioners could have communicated the financial impact to residents along with a plan to address the expected deficit rather than decide in late March 2024 to raise fees and taxes because they ran out of time.
As we end the 2024 fiscal year, the city manager’s office continues to project a FY2024 surplus of over $1,000,000. What is the plan for this surplus? Why wasn’t this surplus considered to offset the property tax increases for FY2025? A comprehensive financial planning process would have recognized a surplus during the budgeting cycle and consideration could have been given to utilizing the surplus to offset increases to fees and taxes.
My Story
My family began visiting Rehoboth Beach back in 1998, back when my oldest daughters were toddlers, and the boardwalk games were still $1. Eventually, after many years of fond family memories, we purchased our property in 2002 and made the move to full-time residents in 2021. What initially drew us to this respite on the coast of Delaware was the beauty of the beaches and the communities that surrounded them. To this day, I find this same allure whether it be during my daily walk to see the sun rise above the Atlantic Ocean, or as I am standing amongst the crowds at our infamous bandstand.
As a full-time, twelve-month resident of Rehoboth Beach, I will be present in this community and committed to the demands of the position of Rehoboth Beach Commissioner. Many Rehoboth residents may not know me by face, but most will recognize my middle daughter, Cali, a vivacious young woman who can often be spotted driving her power wheelchair up and down the boardwalk. You will likely recognize her because of our constant presence within this city— as patrons of the many wonderful small businesses, restaurants, and events taking place throughout the year. I feel it is this presence, along with my experience on the Rehoboth Boardwalk and Beach Committee, my professional experience working in the Office of Finance at Scripps Health and Mercy Health Systems, as a small business owner guiding organizations to improve their financial planning processes, my five years as president of Chesterfield Elementary School Board of Education, and my cumulative twelve years of service to the school board, that make me the best candidate for Rehoboth Beach Commissioner.
My Qualifications
• I am a full-time, twelve-month Rehoboth Beach Resident
• I was a founding partner of Blue Line Planning, a company guiding organizations of all sizes to improve their financial planning, forecasting, and accounting processes, for over fifteen years
• 8 Years Office of Finance experience
• I have served on the Rehoboth Boardwalk and Beach Committee since October of 2021
• I have spent my time volunteering at various community organizations in Delaware, including Special Olympics, Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding, and Save Our Lakes Water Testing
• I served twelve years on Chesterfield, NJ School Board, with five years as school board president