Billions of dollars in new construction projects in Macon-Bibb County could be funded through private investors, a new hotel tax, increased tourist revenue and SPLOST funds, Mayor Lester Miller said during the June taping of Ask Mayor Miller.
The mayor hit the highlights of the recently approved Fiscal Year 2026 general fund budget of nearly $220 million that includes increases in public safety and cybersecurity in what he called a “tight budget.” (0:29 into video)
“We went up just a short amount from last year to this year, because we want to kind of keep things in check with the national environment right now. Want to make sure that we’re very fiscally conservative,” Miller said.
But that’s not stopping him from working on billions of dollars in potential economic development.
Multiple projects run from tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars including East Bank off Coliseum Drive, a new arena plus renovations to Wilson Convention Center, new convention center hotel at 108 First St., Renaissance on the River with Mercer University’s School of Medicine and potential new store, development of the former shopping center at Emery Highway and Second Street, Central Georgia Technical College housing across from Macon Mall, possible new jail and major renovation projects at Middle Georgia Regional Airport. (13:03)
“We’re looking at multiple ways to fund all these because we have $2.4 billion in projects, and we’re certainly not going to take our $450 million and meet that goal, and we’re certainly not going to leverage all of our funds, because a lot of that’s going to be done for roads and recreation and public safety. So we’re looking for creative ways that we can finance this thing, something we can live with, but it also creates funds for our community,” Miller said. “Quite honestly, you can never build a new jail unless you have a new arena or new convention center, because that’s what drives the money to our community.”
The county could implement a new hotel occupation tax to continually produce revenue from visitors on top of the existing hotel-motel tax. (13:08)
“An additional charge per hotel room that could help finance this. They do it all over the place, right? You know, I just left Atlanta not too long ago, and you have a little bit higher percentage there. You go to Savannah, they’ve got an occupation tax on top of their hotel rooms, something that’s kind of nominal that you don’t really recognize. But you have to do that when you stay there. That’s one way to do it.”
Six initiatives of the Macon Violence Prevention Program are underway to address issues at the Bibb County Jail as the Justice and Wellness Task Force identified ways to reduce overcrowding. (8:06)
“We’ve really got to address people going through the process a lot quicker, so we’re going to look for ways to fast track and expedite those in the jail, whether it be electronic monitoring, whether it be watching those bonds or probations violations,” Miller said.
The county also has out a request for qualifications from contractors to expand the jail’s footprint to house an additional 125 inmates and separate out the most violent offenders and those who have mental health issues from the main jail population.
“What I found interesting this time with the grand jury is, they didn’t come back and say, ‘You need to build a new jail.’ They talked about expansion. It really wasn’t as bad as what they had reported on before,” he said.
It costs Bibb County about $70 a day to house an inmate compared to about $7 to $8 to electronically monitor them on the outside, Miller said.
The jail population has dropped from 1018 to 970 since the effort began in recent weeks.
Programs are in place to work with the unhoused or mentally ill in the jail to make sure they have housing or assistance programs after their release to help prevent future arrests.
Housing, possible tax rollback
Macon needs more housing and Miller says it is coming. In addition to Neel Lofts along Cherry and Third streets, and D.T. Walton lofts behind City Hall, the mayor expects an announcement in the next couple of months on the pending Central City Commons large apartment building at the corner of Plum and Second Streets. (18:44)
He also wants new housing in Macon neighborhoods. (5:19)
“I would like to see a lot less apartment complexes and see more individual homes or duplexes, I think, to allow people the opportunity to build wealth,” he said. “We’ve eliminated some of this blight, so we like to do some infill housing as well to replace that. Going to be some great announcements coming over there in Napier Heights area with a lot of homes being built there with a collaboration amongst several, several of our stakeholders.”
With $7.5 million earmarked through the Macon-Bibb County Affordable Housing Fund,
the county also will work with first-time home buyers and offer some downpayment assistance.
With the annual tax assessment process underway, Macon-Bibb is seeing about a 5% growth, so a millage rate rollback is possible. (2:03)
“A lot of that’s new growth. It’s not raising people’s assessments on property they already own. So that’s positive, and very little appeals this year,” Miller said. “I think it’s going to be a very smooth year this year, looking forward for the tax digest getting done, so we can set the millage rate for this next year, but certainly it’s either going to remain the same or go under than what it was before.”
Macon-Bibb likely will partner with the Macon Water Authority on some infrastructure projects with SPLOST funds, but Miller cautioned against expecting the authority to hold the line on water rates as a result.
“Has nothing to do with your water rate. So people need to just forget about that. That’s this misnomer,” Miller said. “Whether we give money or not for stormwater or for the levy, it’s not going to affect whether they have to raise rates or not. Those are two totally different types of funds. We could give them 25 million tomorrow, and the water rates will still go up. Quite honestly, I’ve had businesses in many parts of the state, and Macon Bibb County still has the least expensive water there is and the best tasting water.”
On other topics, Miller said he’s increased recreation spending every year since 2021 and plans to add programs and staff at recreation centers. (1:32)
Bloomfield Gilead Recreation Center is hosting a Lead with Literacy program under the Macon Violence Prevention Program for a dozen families through the summer. (22:02)
Macon-Bibb’s Literary Alliance will be expanding to a new facility in Macon Mall, he said.
“Literacy is the building block of everything. It levels the playing field and certainly can help us fill the jobs that we need for all the great jobs we brought in over the last several years,” Miller said.
Send questions for Ask Mayor Miller to [email protected].
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be contacted at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
