Macon-Bibb County Commissioners unanimously signed off on spending the latest tranche of school speed zone camera ticket revenue on salaries to recruit and retain sheriff’s deputies, pay for school resource officers and crosswalk improvements.
With members of the Bibb County School Board in attendance at Tuesday’s meetings, county commissioners approved $1 million for the school system to hire school resource officers and upgrade crosswalks.
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis also requested and received $2 million to boost starting salaries for non-certified public safety officers.
“This is where the rubber meets the road. We always talk about that we need more people,” Davis said.
He and Mayor Lester Miller agree the county has done a good job recruiting part-time certified deputies to boost staffing and that annual incentive bonuses from $2,500 to $5,000 help retain current officers.
“But we’re missing that piece of people who have no law enforcement experience who may want to get into law enforcement as a career and we’re seeing more interest in that now,” Davis said.
Bibb County’s starting salaries lag behind other agencies, so the $2 million will increase sheriff’s starting pay for non-certified hires about $5,100 to $45,700.
“I cannot think of any better use than for our most valuable resource, our people,” Davis said.
Of the $8.9 million from the county’s portion of ticket revenue collected since 2022, only about $617,000 remains, Miller said.
He added that all of the ticket revenue expenditures have been voted on in public meetings broadcast live on social media and documented in meeting minutes.
“So there should be no confusion of what we spend our money on,” he said before the vote.
The state law that enables speed enforcement cameras in school zones during the school day mandates the money be spent for public safety.
Following the meeting, the county released a list of items purchased from ticket revenue including surveillance cameras and other crime-fighting technology, school emergency key boxes that allow public safety crews to use a master key to gain easy entry to buildings without having to break down doors during emergencies, and public safety vehicles and accessories.
As Georgia lawmakers consider curtailing or banning the school speed zone cameras, Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark told Miller he appreciated the mayor’s leadership on the issue because he feels the cameras have made his family safer going to and from school.
Commissioner Bill Howell, who admitted to paying speeding tickets from the cameras, said he believed the $3 million allocated in the meeting was one of the most important votes in his time in office.
SPLOST spending
Macon-Bibb also took the first steps in borrowing money against the 2025 SPLOST proceeds that might not begin to be collected until fall.
The SPLOST referendum that overwhelmingly passed last month allows the county to borrow up to $100 million on the $450 million raised over 10 years.
Also Tuesday, commissioners agreed to $1.5 million in general obligation bonds to buy about 23 acres to expand the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and create a trailhead park near the future site of the Mercer School of Medicine downtown near the river.
On March 4, commissioners agreed to spend $224,000 for several parcels collectively valued at nearly $135,000 in the 4000 block of Arkwright Road. Last month The Macon Newsroom reported that the riverfront property will eventually lengthen the trail to the River North subdivision.
The commission also approved up to $1.05 million for the convenience store at 40 Spring St. The abandoned gas station valued at $464,000 in the last assessment will be torn down to create a new trailhead park near the Spring Street bridge.
From 2018 SPLOST funds, Commissioners also approved spending $440,000 for Barrington Hall sidewalks, $704,000 for Sheridan Construction to install a new elevator and doors at the City Auditorium.
The county also agreed to spend $1 million in grant funds to contract with Stafford Builders for improvements to Linear Park along Interstate 75 in Pleasant Hill, $209,000 from the general fund for landscape maintenance in Rose Hill Cemetery and $100,000 from the engineering fund to contract with a company to be on-call for guardrail repairs.
The commission accepted grants under the Violence Against Women Act from the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council with more than $84K going to the District Attorney’s Office and nearly $76K for the Solicitor General.
The county also accepted nearly $49,000 from Macon-Bibb Law Enforcement Foundation to buy a new Dodge Charger for the sheriff’s youth intervention program.
The county also celebrated the career of retiring “Library Lady” Suzy McCullough, who spent 46 years in the library system and 11 years teaching in Bibb County schools. McCullough “impacted countless lives” over her career and delighted crowds with her popular puppet shows and training others to serve in local libraries, Miller said in the proclamation.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s meetings captured in social media posts.
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