DELTONA, Fla.,None — A fight over the name of a children's playground put Deltona city manager Faith Miller's job at risk. But City Commissioners voted Monday night 4-3 to allow Miller to keep her job.
In front of the new $600,000 state-of-the-art playground for disabled children in Deltona, a new sign proudly identifies the property as Thornby Park.
It's a historical name for the property, one used in city planning documents, but it's not a name city commissioners officially agreed to.
City Commissioner Zenaida Denizac wants a new name, Inspiration Playground, and in a letter Monday, she called for the firing of Miller, who she said has made Deltona the laughing stock of Volusia County.
"When the sign went up, apparently that's when the discussion arose about the actual naming of the park," Mayor John Masiarcyk said.
Mayor Masiarcyk said he's not sure how the sign could lead to the need to fire Miller. But he and another commissioner told WFTV they would listen to Denizac's argument.
It would cost taxpayers $133,000 in severance to fire Miller, plus health benefits for one year. It would cost nothing to just change the sign or add a new one.
"The city has its own sign shop so the city can manufacture its own signage if we need to," city spokesman Lee Lopez said.
Miller has only been in the city since 2008 and already survived one attempt to fire her, when she was accused of using a Jewish slur in 2009.
Some on the council have accused Miller of lack of professionalism, bad management and loyalty to fired city employees instead of new ones.
The mayor told WFTV original drawings for the park include a sign that said Thornby Park, so the city manager may not have done anything wrong at all by installing that sign that was in the drawing.