Macon-Bibb County has yet to collect the first penny of the 2025 SPLOST and already the $450 million that will be brought in over 10 years won’t cover the county’s wish list, Mayor Lester Miller said during the April 29 taping of Ask Mayor Miller.
While the SPLOST ballot language was not specific, a new jail, sports arena and East Bank development alone run into the hundreds of millions of dollars each. (0:41 into video)
“Despite all the talk about new buildings and things like that that have to happen, we’re certainly going to take care of those roads first,” Miller said.
The mayor plans to spend $25 million initially to pave roads that have been in disrepair. In prior years, the county only allocated $700,000 in matching funds for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants, Miller said.
Major airport upgrades, Lake Tobesofkee enhancements, new affordable housing for struggling neighborhoods, a hotel at Macon Mall and other desired projects are much more feasible with the help of private investors and creative use of funds, he said. (3:10)
“We’re also looking at some other things, like communities do, maybe a tourism improvement district where you have a certain fee that goes to the hotel to help fund those things. So we’re certainly in new need of a new arena, and also a new hotel Convention Center. And I think those are some things that could be on the horizon,” Miller said.
Macon needs facility upgrades to compete with other Georgia cities for conventions and entertainment events that pump millions of dollars into the local economy, the mayor has said.
Miller said the county is in negotiations with “one or two” commercial airliners to bring additional passenger service to Middle Georgia Regional Airport. (21:53)
“It’ll be some great venues that we’ve done our studies on, and also places you can connect to other places around the world,” he said.
The county also plans to work with developers to build “Main Street Housing” in various neighborhoods, he said. (4:00)
“That’s kind of a new terminology there, but we want it for everyone, people who have an opportunity to get into an affordable house, to a house that could be workforce development. It could be for our firefighters or our police. It could be for veterans, disabled and those experiencing homelessness,” Miller said.
The Brookdale Resource Center does a good job of getting people jobs and a roof over their heads, but sustainable housing is still elusive, he said.
“So we’ve got a lot of property we’ve been acquiring through our Land Bank Authority, through certain parts of our community that we believe that we can do some housing from the Macon-Bibb County Affordable Housing Fund, and certainly some of those projects are already starting to come out of the ground,” Miller said.
Macon Water Authority issues, speed zone cameras
In January, the Macon Water Authority requested $72 million in SPLOST funds for levee repairs and stormwater projects, which amounts to about a sixth of expected collections.
Miller said the county is a good partner, but he did not commit to that funding amount.
“The previous administration worked out a deal with the Water Authority where we didn’t get any franchise fees that we should be getting from a utility in exchange for giving them some valuable assets in our community, and allowing them to receive the wastewater, stormwater fees that they get and to also to take responsibility for the levee that they have there. So you can’t contract that right away and then place it right back on Macon-Bibb County, even though we do know we have to partner, and there’s some concerns there, and I think we’re going to work well to address them,” he said.
Miller did not want to comment on the recent inner turmoil with the board of the Macon Water Authority and a proposal to change the makeup of the board. (11:20)
“They need to do what’s right by the community and to move forward together. I think they’re going to work those differences out soon, but if not, there’s other places to handle that,” he said.
On the subject of school speed zone cameras, Bibb Sheriff David Davis recently resumed issuance of citations that he paused in March as lawmakers debated the controversial program. (8:30)
Davis is limiting the automatic ticketing operation to the arrival and dismissal hours when flashing lights indicate a reduction in speed. Drivers have to be going 11 mph over the speed limit to get a ticket.
During the interview program, Miller said he favored that limited use of cameras, which he believes will cut down on confusion.
The mayor also defended the recent expenditure of speed zone ticket revenue to increase salaries for non-certified public safety candidates desiring to begin a career in the field. (10:20)
One local resident asked why new hires are getting increases when the law enforcement veterans “get nothing.”
“That would be an incorrect statement,” Miller said as he pointed to the 6% raises this year and annual employee incentive bonuses of $1,000 or $2,500, depending on length of service.
Politics and local leadership
The Georgia General Assembly did not take action on bills that would revise the state law that allows the cameras, nor did the local delegation take up the Macon-Bibb County Commission’s request to allow mayors to serve three terms, same as commissioners. (4:43)
“It’s an election year coming up in 2026 so there’s gonna be a lot of moving parts,” Miller said. “Certainly, I’ve been asked, myself, to run for several positions and it’s something I’m prayerfully considering right now. My number one goal is to be mayor of Macon-Bibb County, whether that’s two years or four years or even eight years. I’m gonna work every day like it’s my last day and get these projects pushed through like they should be.”
During the recent State of the Community address, Miller touted the 83% reduction in the homicide rate, year to date, from three years ago and credited his Macon Violence Prevention program with making the community safer. (17:12)
He wants the successful programs to continue that were funded under MVP grants administered by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.
“I think building capacity in all those organizations and keep doing what we’ve been doing has been one of the reasons we’ve been very successful in a short period of time,” he said.
On the topic of one citizen’s concerns about overcrowding in local nightclubs, the mayor said patrons can call the sheriff’s office or fire department about clubs exceeding occupancy levels that could threaten lives in the event of a fire or other calamity. (18:12)
“But at the same time, if you’re still going there, you’re part of the problem. If you’re still going there with all these folks, if everybody did that, then they all become part of the problem. So you also have to take some personal responsibility in those situations,” he said.
During April’s program, Miller also discussed local leaders’ speaking engagement at Harvard University following the county’s recognition as a targeted destination in national and international publications, (20:20), the recent Intercity Trip to Maryland with NewTown Macon and Visit Macon where local leaders learned more about Baltimore’s revitalization successes, (19:20), and the pending transition of leadership at Mercer University now that President Bill Underwood will return to the law school classroom. (20:55)
Send your ‘Ask Mayor Miller’ questions to mercerccj@gmail.com.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976.
