Doug Miller, 50, became Aberdeen?s new city manager on March 21, after an 18-year stint as the town manager for La Plata, which was ravaged by a powerful tornado in 2002. The storm destroyed a large portion of the Southern Maryland town and killed five people.
Miller walked into a different type of storm on his first day as Aberdeen?s city manager ? a financial one.
“I walked in here and I immediately went to work on the budget,” Miller said ? a process not out of the ordinary for a city administrator, but he was arriving just as the city?s finance director was leaving.
And he came to find that Aberdeen was facing a $2 million deficit ? a deficit that has required him to propose a budget that includes a 40 percent increase in the city?s property tax. Miller described coming up with the new property tax rate as a “bitter pill” for himself and for Aberdeen residents. But even with the 24-cent jump, the budget is “lean,” he said.
One of five candidates for the position of city manager, which carries a salary of approximately $98,000, Miller was chosen because he was decisive, said Aberdeen City Council President Ron Kupferman.
“That comes from experience. He has a clear perspective on his job.”
Prior to La Plata, Miller served as town administrator for Snow Hill on Maryland?s Eastern Shore.
“The town manager works for the mayor and Town Council. A person in that position needs to be unbiased, and something I really appreciated Doug for was that he never gave anybody his opinion unless he was directly asked,” said La Plata Mayor Gene Ambrogio.
Ambrogio described a man who was a tireless worker, who was “on top of things” and “worked well with the mayor and Town Council … the county … [and] the state” to get things done, especially after the devastating tornado of April 28, 2002.
“It seemed the man never took a vacation. He was always very dedicated to his work,” Ambrogio said.
“I have worked for several different elected bodies. This one is a high-octane elected body,” Miller said of projects Aberdeen Mayor S. Fred Simmons and City Council members are working on, such the water treatment plant on the Chesapeake Bay and proactively preparing for an influx of new jobs at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
“Local governments are … a service industry first,” Miller said.
