Tampa International Airport director Louis Miller resigns

Louis Miller, executive director of Tampa International Airport for 14 years, submitted his resignation Wednesday in a move that stunned employees and board members.

Miller, 61, said his move was not because of recent tension involving him and a reconstituted airport board.

Miller oversaw $1.1 billion in capital improvements, recruited competitive airline service to achieve average domestic airfares ranked among the nation's five lowest and doubled passengers during his tenure to nearly 20 million a year, before the recent recession dropped 2009's total to more than 17 million.

"We have one of the top-rated airports in the country because of Louis Miller. His commitment to our airport and community is unparalleled," said Ken Hagan, chairman of the Hillsborough County Commission and aviation authority board member.

Miller's e-mailed resignation to the five Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board members will take effect April 23, after more than a decade of smooth operations that were interrupted by some contentious issues in recent months.

Those primarily involved Miller and one of two board members Gov. Charlie Crist named last summer to replace two others who had applied to be reappointed.

In a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Miller said his resignation had nothing to do with conflicts with board member Steve Burton, a lawyer who has challenged Miller over items ranging from international air service marketing to Miller's authority to order demolition of vacant aviation authority structures.

Miller said he and his wife had been discussing a career change for the past five months.

"I have come to the decision to explore other opportunities and I do not want to pursue these while remaining as a full time employee of the Aviation Authority," Miller says in his resignation letter.

He asked the board to vote on his resignation March 4.

Burton said Wednesday he had "heard some bits and pieces" about Miller's resignation. When asked to characterize Miller's tenure as director, he said, "I'm new on the board. I prefer to leave it at just saying I'm excited for the future of the airport."

Burton said he would hate to characterize certain exchanges with Miller as clashes.

"It was me just asking questions," he said. "You'd have to ask him."

He said he did not know whether anyone on the board asked for Miller's resignation.

"I don't know," Burton said. "I did not."

Hagan said Miller "has been a pillar in our community and served with distinction."

Hagan said he did not know why Miller resigned and that he hoped it was not because of any clashes with board members.

As to Miller's request that the board consider appointing Deputy Executive Director John Wheat as interim director, Hagan said, "I see no reason why we shouldn't honor that request. He's more than equipped to handle that responsibility; then I assume we'd do a national search."

Al Austin, chairman of the aviation authority board, said Miller's resignation caught him by surprise. "He just reached a point where some issues have come up, and he decided he has done the best of what he can do, and he decided to move on," he said.

"Lou has done a remarkable job out there; everyone knows that," Austin said.

Don Welch, director of human resources for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, said there are no complaints against Miller from any employees and nobody has approached him about problems with Miller.

Miller was recruited to Tampa from Salt Lake City in July 1996.

He earns $253,294 annually along with a $500 monthly auto allowance.

In lieu of participating in the Florida Retirement System, the aviation authority contributes $46,000 to a 401(a) plan for Miller, the maximum authorized by law.

Miller chose to forgo a raises in 2005 and 2009, when a travel industry slump cut into the airport's revenue. He voluntarily reduced his pay by 2.5 percent after the 9/11 attacks, when the aviation industry also faced a financial downturn.

Miller's salary is roughly comparable with those of other major airport chiefs in the country, which means the aviation authority should have some bargaining power with prospective directors.

However, most directors at major airports are accustomed to being strong leaders of operations, and perceptions that the authority board may involve itself beyond broad policy issues could affect possible recruits' perceptions.

The main criticism leveled during Miller's tenure has been about the airport's inability to recruit international flights to more than a handful of destinations, which has united a small group of detractors. That issue came to a head in December when Burton created a committee with himself as chairman to bolster airport marketing, particularly for international flights.

Miller and two of the five board members contended that an existing committee that included local business and economic development officials was sufficient.

However, airline officials say Tampa does not have demand for international flights on a par with Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and that the airport is limited by law in what inducements it can offer to attract service, beyond trimming already low airline user fees of about $5 a passenger and some other small service charges.

In an interview earlier Wednesday, Gary Kelly, chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, called Miller "one of the best in the country." Southwest is Tampa International's busiest carrier, with more 30 percent of the airport's market share.

"I love the Tampa airport, which is clean and seems to be well run," said Jay White, a Boston resident who owns a condo in Clearwater. "I don't see anything broken in Tampa."