A Dec. 15 letter criticized the Town Council’s decision to increase the pay of Town Manager Grady Miller. It misstated Miller’s salary and the role of town staff in the Daybreak project.

The letter said, “Our Town Council voted…to give Town Manager Grady Miller a 20% salary increase. So…he will be making well over $200,000 annually.” Information made public Dec. 7 (and reported by The Times Dec. 15) shows that Miller’s total current compensation is $168,764. The $25,000 increase approved by the council is a 14.8% increase — not 20%. The resulting total compensation is $193,764 — not “well over $200,000.”

The letter said, “[O]ther municipalities much larger than Fountain Hills’ 25,000 population do not pay their executives at that level.” In fact, data presented at the council meeting shows that the average manager salary for Maricopa County communities is $195,573. When only smaller county communities are included the average base salary, not including benefits, is $190,538. In other words, Miller’s compensation is well within the range of what other communities pay.

The letter said, “[T]he Daybreak project…was pushed through by Town staff under the manager’s direction for approval.” In fact, publicly available information shows otherwise. For example, the “Staff Recommendation” regarding the Daybreak General Plan amendment says, in part, “If…the Council finds it is a good use of the property and meets the goals and objective of the town and should be approved, then the General Plan change is warranted. If the rezoning and development plan fail to meet the needs of the town, the General Plan change should not be approved.”