SALISBURY — City Councilman Brian Miller is the longest-serving incumbent running for re-election.

Miller has been a council member since 2009. But he said he doesn’t feel that his work on the council is finished.

“Fibrant is a big challenge that doesn’t have an easy answer,” he said. “We still need to figure out the Empire Hotel. I’m not sure that I will ever feel like I’ve finished. There’s always some other thing you’re hoping to get accomplished.”

He said that Salisbury’s downtown has been a “jewel” but that over the past several years, surrounding communities have begun catching up.

“Surrounding communities have upped their game, and we have stayed status quo,” Miller said. “Me, personally, I’d love to have more greenery, more of a landscape-type deal.”

He said that other priorities have meant that downtown landscaping and renovations were not among the city’s biggest concerns.

“This last budget year, it’s been about how to decrease crime. The funding we have is a scarce asset, and a lot of hands are out for those resources,” Miller said. “When you have a choice between bumping the pay scale for police and planting more street trees, I’m going to ask for a police pay bump 99 percent of the time.”

He said public safety will always be the most important thing to him.

But he also said that should he be re-elected, he will prioritize finding a sustainable model for Fibrant and securing a buyer for the Empire Hotel.

As a district manager for BB&T Bank, where he’s worked since 2009, Miller said he’s learned that he cannot control anyone else’s behavior.

“I mean, there are candidates for council that are more interested in their issues than good for the city as a whole,” he said. “All that I can do is vote for what I think is right.”

Miller, 48, was raised in Atlanta but moved to Salisbury in 1985. He attended East Rowan High School and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Contact Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222.