Mayor Matt Miller outlines projects, funding and personnel changes; says he will not file for reelection

Mayor Matt Miller used the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce luncheon to summarize the city’s near-term projects, finances and staffing priorities — and told the audience he will not seek another term as mayor.

“After 45 years in the workforce, probably almost 35 in some sort of public service, I have decided that I will not file for reelection, come March or May 5,” Mayor Matt Miller said during his presentation.

Miller led with items he said the city is advancing that affect safety, infrastructure and downtown development. He described a wastewater treatment plant outfall project he said totals about $17,000,000 and said the city has received about $11,000,000 in FEMA funding so far. Miller said the outfall work has moved from blasting to tunneling to reduce neighborhood impacts.

The mayor highlighted a proposed event center on port property backed by the Port of Anacortes and said the project team estimates roughly $10,000,000 in costs. Miller said city leaders plan to pursue Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) funds and other grant requests rather than raising local taxes, and that the council and port commissioners expect to meet jointly soon to approve next steps on construction and management arrangements.

Miller also discussed the city’s municipal fiber program, saying the city borrowed about $12,000,000 for fiber construction and currently has roughly $20,000,000 of fiber infrastructure in the ground. He said the project now grosses about $2,000,000 a year in revenue and the city estimates roughly $250,000 in net revenue by 2027 once buildout and operating costs are covered.

On public safety, Miller noted the addition of a $1,700,000 ladder truck to the Fire Department and an extra staffed unit at Station 1. He introduced a new dual-use canine, “Zeke,” expected to begin service after completing remaining training hours by July, and praised regional efforts to establish a new police academy that he said eliminated a months-long wait to get recruits into training.

Miller described planned street and intersection work, including an overlay of Commercial Avenue and upgrades to ADA ramps and bike lanes; he said a long-discussed Safeway-area intersection will be repaired with new signals rather than a roundabout and that the city is out to bid on the work. He said the city will use its regular overlay funds to pay for improvements to the state-owned main road through Anacortes after years of lobbying for state help.

On development and permitting, Miller updated attendees on the MJB property: the council approved vacating a small city right-of-way and accepted $1,000,000 connected to site work and moving public restroom facilities; the mayor said the city remains engaged but cannot force a private developer to build. He also said the city’s permitting backlog has been cleared and the organization is implementing a digital permitting system intended to create a transparent, repeatable review process.

Miller reviewed other municipal items including centralizing grant management, conducting negotiations with bargaining groups (Teamsters and the police guild), and an internal hiring push: the city used NEOGOV in 2024 and recorded 504 hires that year, many seasonal, to serve a workforce of about 240 employees.

Parks, library and cultural projects were also discussed. Miller credited private donations and city funds for the skate park and pump track projects, previewed a library teen space the city aims to open in June, and noted a ribbon-cutting for the Capstan/Santa Lookout Project scheduled for Wednesday, April 16 at 1:30 p.m.

Miller emphasized fiscal monitoring, noting sales tax, property tax and utility tax as major revenues and thanked HF Sinclair and the island’s refineries for their contributions to utility and sales-tax receipts. He said finance staff monitor sales tax constantly and that the council has directed hiring freezes in some areas to preserve current staffing levels.

The mayor closed by saying he will “sprint to the finish line” of his current term and continue to focus on the city’s ongoing priorities through the remainder of his service.

Several non-substantive items at the luncheon included Chamber announcements, door-prize drawings and sponsor acknowledgements; those are not covered here.