Placer County CEO announces retirement

Thomas M. Miller plans to retire early next year

Auburn, Calif. – Thomas Miller revealed his retirement plans at the end of a meeting of the Placer County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Afterward, the board announced plans for conducting a nationwide search for his successor.

“It’s been a great pleasure working with Tom,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert M. Weygandt said. “He accepted the position of county executive officer during a time of delicate change and provided a strong and stabilizing influence.  We were then confronted with addressing the most challenging financial crisis in recent history.  Tom effectively managed us through that period, and today our budget and level of county services are remarkably healthy as a result.  Tom deserves huge credit and thanks.  I wish Tom and his family all the best in his retirement.”   
 
CEO Miller was named to the county’s top management position in 2005 after serving as the first director of the newly created county Community Development Resource Agency.

“It has been a privilege to serve as Placer County’s CEO,” Miller said Tuesday. “I have had the good fortune of working with a strong team – an effective, far-sighted Board of Supervisors; talented, experienced managers; and a workforce dedicated to serving the public.

“Working together, we kept budgets balanced despite the economic slowdown and state budget crisis while maintaining core public services, expanding the county park system and building badly needed facilities. We can all take pride in knowing Placer County is one of the best-run counties in California.”     

CEO Miller came to Placer County to take over as facility services director in 1999 after serving as acting county administrative officer and director of transportation and sanitation for Nevada County.

As Placer County’s facility services director, he launched an ambitious capital construction program aimed at constructing new parks and buildings.

The new buildings were needed to accommodate population growth and replace aging facilities at the Placer County Government Center, a North Auburn complex commonly known as the DeWitt Center. As CEO, he was able to oversee completion of many projects, including the first phase of the new Bill Santucci Justice Center in Roseville and buildings such as the Community Development Resource Center and Auburn Justice Center in North Auburn.

During his tenure as facility services director, the county planned and constructed the Granite Bay Community Park, Ronald L. Feist Park in Granite Bay and Squaw Valley Park.

CEO Miller began his management career in Trinity County, where he was recruited to be director of planning, but ultimately assumed responsibility for virtually all of the county’s public works and planning services. 

In 1992, he was recruited to be Nevada County’s director of transportation and sanitation, but, shortly thereafter, assumed planning director responsibilities. In 1999, he was appointed assistant county administrator and promoted six months later to serve as interim county administrator.