Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
MELIA BOWIELess than a day after the job is offered, it's accepted. John Scott Miller will start in November, replacing Gerald Seeber.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Less than 24 hours after city officials offered him a contract, John Scott Miller officially signed on Wednesday to become New Port Richey's manager.
His acceptance ends a nearly three-month search to replace former City Manager Gerald Seeber, who left in June.
The quest for his replacement was sometimes bumpy, punctuated by candidates who withdrew from consideration and council members concerned with a narrow pool of finalists. Still, elected leaders said Wednesday that they were confident Miller would accept.
"With the wonderful city we have, how could he not want to come here and be our city manager?" said council member Bob Langford.
Miller, 54 and the city manager of an Atlanta suburb, was the fourth of five finalists to be interviewed.
He expressed some concern over budgeting challenges facing the city, but boasts a strong redevelopment background that attracted him here.
The interview process had a ring of deja vu for Miller, who went into municipal government on a "coin-toss" after he "washed out" of pre-med in college.
"I was the candidate back in 1981 or 1982 for the (New Port Richey) city manager position," he said Wednesday. "I was in Michigan then. I came down and visited. I had a tour but, unfortunately, we were not able to meet on the economic benefits," he said.
Twenty years later, he returned on vacation.
"I was very impressed with how progressive the city had been ... how they re-did their downtown," he said. And this time, the price was right to draw him back to Florida.
City Council members voted Tuesday to offer him a $100,000 annual contract with benefits and a monthly $300 car allowance. Miller will also receive a housing allowance of $450 for up to five months. There is no defined duration to his tenure; either party can end the relationship. But Miller must give 30 days notice if he plans to leave and New Port Richey must pay four months of severence pay if the City Council fires him.
His start date in New Port Richey in early-to-mid November remains fluid.
"He's going to play it by ear," said city personnel director Jeff Sutton, noting Miller must first tie up loose ends in College Park, Ga. Among those tasks was notifying the City Council there of his departure.
"It hasn't been a pleasant day. They're all finding out now," said Miller, city manager there for nearly nine years. But he added he was excited about the opportunity New Port Richey presents.
Among the first things he will tackle: "There's three department positions (in the city) that need to be filled and that's a priority," he said.
"You want to hire the best person for the job and sometimes you have to market it. Sometimes you have to recruit for it," Miller added, noting he still has connections in Florida government.
Before serving as College Park city manager he held similar roles in Boynton Beach, Oakland Park, and Wilton Manor in Florida, as well as cities in Illinois and Michigan.
He has an ex-wife and a 15-year-old son in Cleveland.