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Garden City DDA told city development director Matt Miller will retire; board names liaison for hiring process
Summary
The Garden City Downtown Development Authority was told Matt Miller will retire in September 2026; the city manager asked the DDA to appoint one liaison to participate in interviews for a shared community development director and the board later selected a liaison to report back.
The Garden City Downtown Development Authority heard on Monday that Matt Miller, the city's community development director who has also served as the DDA's executive director, is scheduled to retire in September 2026.
"Matt Miller is scheduled to retire in September 2026," the city manager told the DDA and said the city and the DDA currently share the director position under a cost-sharing agreement. He said the arrangement lets the city and DDA pool resources to offer a more competitive compensation package and that city staff had posted the job and were reviewing applicants.
The city manager asked the board whether it wanted to appoint a single DDA liaison to take part in interviews and provide feedback on candidates, noting that the city makes the hire but the DDA could withdraw from the cost-sharing agreement with 30 days' notice if it chose to do so.
Board members pressed staff on the hiring timeline and candidate qualifications. One trustee asked when Miller would next be in the office; the city manager said, "Matt will be back Monday," and added that Miller has been working on special projects and continuing to support grant efforts.
Multiple trustees noted the difficulty of finding a single candidate with both planning and building-license credentials and discussed contingency options, including training a candidate who meets most but not all requirements or returning to a standalone DDA director if the city’s hire did not meet the board’s expectations.
Later in the meeting the board nominated volunteers to serve as the DDA liaison for the city's hiring process, held a roll-call, and selected Trustee Walconis to participate in interviews and report back to staff and the board. The liaison will coordinate with city HR and the city manager; if the city hires a candidate the DDA does not support, the board retains the option to rescind the cost-sharing agreement and pursue its own hiring process within the 30-day notice window.
The board was asked to review the city job posting and to expect a candidate selection timeline aimed at having someone in place by midsummer so the new hire can learn the job from Miller before his retirement. No formal hiring decision was made by the DDA at the meeting; the city manager said the board would be updated as applications and interviews proceed.
The DDA’s discussion acknowledged the value Miller brought to both the city and the DDA, and the city manager said the shared arrangement has helped attract more experienced candidates than the DDA could on its own. The board scheduled follow-up at its July meeting if a viable candidate had not been identified.
The presentation and liaison selection were presented as informational and procedural steps; the board did not vote on the hiring itself, which remains the city's decision.
