BY GEORGIA LEONHART CAPE GAZETTE
DEWEY BEACH DL - Dewey Beach Mayor Dell Tush is under fire for her recent decision to award holiday bonuses to town employees. Two commissioners say no provision for bonuses was made in the 2008 budget, and they call the extra expense irresponsible in light of the town’s $610,000 deficit. Tensions came to a head at the Saturday, Jan. 10 town council meeting, where weeks’ worth of discussion and debate erupted in a public forum.
Tush distributed $4,800 in bonuses at a private party held at her home Dec. 22. Commissioners Diane Hanson and Rich Hanewinckel called her decision unilateral and exclusionary.
“I was never contacted by the mayor in any way, shape or form,” said Hanewinckel in a Jan. 5 interview. “I’m just trying to ascertain how this all came about.” He and Hanson say Tush contacted Town Manager Gordon Elliott and misled him, claiming the council had arrived at a 3-2 vote. Tush flatly denies the allegation.
“That’s a lie,” she said in a Jan. 12 interview. “I contacted no one.”
Tush said bonuses were initially out of the question – she assumed the money wasn’t there. Dale Cooke, former chairman of the budget and finance committee, called Tush before the party and urged her to grant bonuses, telling her that the money was already budgeted. Commissioner Martin Seitz seconded Cooke’s recommendation through another call, and Commissioner Marc Appelbaum, chairman of the budget and finance committee, expressed a lack of opinion via email.
Employee bonuses were not included in the 2008 budget as a line item – instead, Elliott said, he included them in his computations for employee salaries and wages. Bonuses were budgeted “just like overtime,” he said. Tush said she assumed a consensus had been reached when they approved the budget, and ordered Elliott to write a $200 check for each employee.
“Every year they’ve been given a bonus,” Tush said. “They deserve it.” Hanson said she was unaware of the decision to award bonuses.
“It’s unfortunate that this was done without any transparency at all,” she said. She sees the mayor’s decision as foolhardy, considering the town’s massive deficit. While she agrees the employees should be rewarded for their dedication, she says her opposition to bonuses is preventative.
“I’m actually trying to save jobs,” she said. “The less we have in our resources, the more difficult decisions we’ll have to make in the future.”
In September, the commissioners directed Elliott to cut down on nonessential spending. Elliott does not see bonuses as nonessential – in his opinion, $4,800 is a small price to pay to keep employees happy. He did not, however, include a provision for bonuses in 2009’s budget. “Not now,” he said. “I would catch too much outside flack.”
Appelbaum said he is “neutral-to-positive” on bonuses. Formerly a business owner, he’s predisposed to bonuses. However small, he made a point of issuing one each year to keep employee morale high. A new council member, he decided to defer to the judgment of senior members.
He’s not upset that Tush assumed his consent, but he wishes others had a chance to voice their opinions. “It’s never been discussed in a meeting,” he said. “I believed it was a dead issue.”
Appelbaum said all the commissioners should have been invited to the mayor’s party. Tush said she considers the holiday party, which she paid for, a naturally exclusive gesture from the mayor to the employees.
“The dinner was out of my pocket, and it always has been,” said Tush. “Why would I ask them to come? It’s my gift.”
Tush considers the bonuses as an investment in the morale of town employees. Unhappy workers will seek other jobs, which she said creates an economic disaster worse than the deficit. She sees Hanson and Hanewinckel’s criticisms as indirect attacks on the employees.
“I don’t know why they have this vendetta on employees. We’re going to lose good people,” she said.
Hanson, however, said her criticisms are made in the name of fiscal responsibility.
“This has nothing to do with the employees. We need to be realistic in this economy – bonuses are not a given thing.”
The issue was raised at the Saturday, Jan. 10 town council meeting. Don Zeigler, former member of the budget and finance and audit committees, said he noticed a morale boost among employees.
“It’s a great investment in our future,” he said.
Marcia Shieck, a Dewey resident and member of Citizens to Preserve Dewey, attacked Tush directly.
“I was disgusted that the process was not followed,” she told the mayor. “There should have been a vote.” The debate between Shieck and Tush became so heated that Hanson had to seize the gavel and call for order.
Joy Howell, a property owner and Citizens member, recommended a two-step process for issuing bonuses. First, she said, commissioners should assess the town’s financial position. If the funds are available, she continued, bonuses should be based on performance.
“Honestly, I’d like to see them be more creative with bonuses,” said Howell in a Monday, Jan. 12 interview.
No action was taken at the meeting. Appelbaum said that the budget and finance committee would be glad to adopt a more transparent process for awarding bonuses.
Bonuses budgeted
Elliott says he budgeted employee bonuses into the salary and wages line item. A Dec. 19 profit & loss report shows that $753,030 was budgeted to pay salary and wages of 24 full-time, nonseasonal employees. $775,064 was spent between January and November 2008, exceeding the budgeted amount by $22,034. Elliot attributes the salary and wages deficit to legal fees paid during a labor dispute. He said contractual obligations prevented him from discussing details of the dispute.