By Scott Harvey
Commerce – The newest employee to the City of Commerce is familiarizing himself with the community. Dion Miller was appointed to the City Manager's post two weeks ago, and began work on Monday.
Miller has served as City Manager in Azle, Assistant City Manager in Killeen and most recently Mineola City Manager. He says he's experienced several types of governments, but prefers and is more accustomed to the council-manager style Commerce uses.
Miller talked about some of the positives for the City of Commerce, noting its educational environment and location, as well as the city's ability to secure water rights.
He credits the work Commerce has done in securing ground water through wells and access to Lake Tawakoni and Cooper Lake.
'It says a lot about the community in how it looked forward to the future in securing those [water] rights'' says Miller.
Water is going to be a major issue for cities in the years to come, particularly in Texas. It's really a worldwide issue, about good quality drinking water.
More evidence of the City planning for the future, according to Miller, is evident in the New City Hall. 'There's some space in this building that's not being used, and that's wonderful'' says Miller.
'It's not going to waste, because eventually it will be used. So they were planning for the future, they were leaving some options open. That's what any organization needs to do is leave some options and have some flexibility so they can grow and change.''
An upcoming issue facing the City is how to properly allocate funds toward street improvements based on a recently passed bond. In previous positions, Miller has worked on street projects both in Mineola and Killeen.
Born in Canyon, Texas, Miller holds a Bachelor's Degree from West Texas A&M. He has two children. His son Jeff is pursuing a Master Degree at Missouri Baptist University near St. Louis, while his daughter Katy is preparing to enter Blinn College in Brenham, Texas.