The Farmington City Council on Monday voted 3-1 to fire the city's top administrative official after he had spent less than nine months on the job, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Mike Miller, 61, will be eligible for $59,000 in severance pay from his second firing as a city manager in two years, the Daily Times said.

Councilors cited his "bull in a china shop," authoritarian management style in voting not to confirm Miller, who started the Farmington job on June 1, the paper said.

"Besides the shambles he was going to leave our organization in, I thought he was eventually going to bankrupt the city," said Councilor Mary Fischer, who has sought Miller's ouster for six months.

The sole vote against Miller came from Councilor Dan Darnell, who said he felt Miller needed more time on the job, the Daily Times said.

"He didn't feel opposed to change," Darnell said. "He did not kowtow or bow down on significant issues."

Miller wasn't present at the meeting and didn't return the Daily Times' phone calls for comment.

But Mayor Bill Standley said he was "still in shock" over the firing, telling the paper "I'm totally surprised by this."

Miller also was fired from his last job as city manager of Columbia, Tenn., and when he applied for the Farmington job he said he didn't know why he was fired in January 2007, the Daily Times said. 

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Rate this article:
Poor Great

Comment:

BOLD

"QUOTE"

UNDERLINE