Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller plans to double the size of Code Enforcement and is not ruling out creating a municipal police force. (14:05 into video)
During the November Ask Mayor Miller program that laid out plans for major development projects and explained his strategy for lifting people out of poverty, Miller said he might enact a new traffic enforcement division.
On Nov. 4, commissioners approved using $55,000 in school speed zone citation revenue for BTBB architects to design expanded offices for Code Enforcement in the old Internal Affairs Division of the former Macon Police Department. The department already has office space in the old police headquarters that connects to City Hall. (14:44)
“We have to not just redesign the headquarters, we’re expanding the headquarters. So, we’re going to hire more code enforcement,” Miller said. “Also go to longer times of operation, maybe get off at eight o’clock, in the first phase. Next phase, we’ll have a couple of shifts… and we’ll eventually go to weekends.”
Miller said Code Enforcement is doing a good job from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., but mischief occurs beyond those hours.
While he is not actively considering re-establishing a municipal police force, Miller has discussed the subject with Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. The mayor is willing to study what it would cost to activate a small traffic enforcement unit. (14:12)
“Most of the time we hear people, you know, they want to have some traffic enforcement — people running the red lights and things of that nature, speeding through neighborhoods, making a less safe environment and also better response times,” he said.
Renoalda Scott asked what investments Miller is making in youth programs and pathways to success. (10:45)
“Over 40-something separate local organizations we have funded to help Macon Violence Prevention. We’re providing recreation department tutoring, mentorship, music, sports. I mean I could go on and on and on for hours and hours of all the things we’re doing on there,” Miller said.
In the recent shootout in the Kroger shopping center off Northside Drive, Bibb sheriff’s deputies were in the vicinity and made arrests. (12:28)
“We’re still down 65% in homicides from where we were just two or three years ago. We’re headed in the right direction. Certainly we gotta address these things when they pop up and we’ve done that,” Miller said. “The sheriff was able to arrest someone, which shows that we had the necessary resources in the area at the time that it happened.”
L.J. Malone asked what Miller is doing to address the poverty level. (18:39)
“Every single thing we do,” Miller replied.
He cited the county’s funding of a truancy officer for the Bibb County School System, the $7.5 million fund for affordable housing, $150,000 recently given for food distribution, and $50,000 that funded the Family Counseling Center’s victims’ assistance programs.
“But the best way to level the playing field is to provide a great education, good quality jobs, and the 1500 new jobs that we’ve done, to $1.2 billion in investment that we brought in through our industrial authority in the last year. That’s the way you lift people out of poverty, taking care of those types of issues, opening up doors and removing barriers,” Miller said.
Development, Homelessness, Sneaker Ball
Economic development also is a priority as the county moves forward with hiring builders for the new Macon arena that is currently in the design phase. (00:25)
“We have some general estimates on the size, and we kind of put a ballpark number, but certainly we don’t talk about those publicly, because we haven’t made all the fine-tuned changes to those yet,” he said. “So we’re not going to build something we can’t afford, but at same time, we’re not going to cut corners. We want a very nice facility. It’s very competitive.”
A cost estimate is expected to be finalized by April.
Miller plans to draw funds from the new occupation tax on overnight visitors, SPLOST, sponsoring and naming opportunities, and also will look to the state of Georgia for some funds as the facility is expected to be used for high school sports tournaments.
Plans also are progressing for the proposed riverfront development next to the site of the Mercer University School of Medicine. (1:57) Miller expects to break ground on the rest of that project by next summer with the convention center and new hotel at First and Walnut streets to follow.
Prospective tenants for the old Macon Health Club and bank building across First Street are being recruited, but Miller plans to keep as much of the old health club intact to serve downtown.(3:14)
“We got a lot of interest in it, and we got a lot of working going on behind the scenes with Urban Development Authority, NewTown Macon, and Macon Bibb County,” he said. “I look forward to putting something out there in the general public probably in the next 90 to 180 days.”
He does not anticipate having a detailed SPLOST budget like with the 2018 SPLOST, but the spending plan will be more clear once the arena cost is set. (9:22)
“Everything that was in the ballot language itself will be addressed,” Miller said. “Whether it’s corrections from the sheriff’s department, fire department, parks and recreation — you’ve seen, we’ve done some things there — as well as parts of beautification. So all those boxes are being touched.”
Expansion of the runway at Middle Georgia Regional Airport and construction of the new guitar-shaped executive terminal should be complete in late 2026 or early 2027, he said. (6:29)
Signal Aviation will be marketing the airport and working to recruit new flights, he said.
Miller’s takeaways from the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority’s late-October trip to Japan include the country’s culture of cleanliness, and the importance of maintaining good relationships with local industries such as YKK and YKK AP. (20:38)
While he does not want to be aggressive with dismantling urban campsites and dispersing unhoused people over the holidays, Miller cautioned independent benefactors against interacting with unhoused individuals in camps as they could undermine efforts to get the people off the streets. (15:54) The Daybreak center has struggled with what was described as a “rogue group” of people camping next door, which is not allowed.
Miller expects to renovate that stretch of the Walnut Street corridor from MLK Jr. Boulevard to the entrance of Carolyn Crayton Park by March.
The county also has contracted with the Rev. Jake Hall to continue outreach efforts to those living on the streets. United Way’s United to End Homelessness program concluded when grant funds ran out. (17:20)
Miller also wants Hall to work with Bibb County inmates who are about to be released from jail to make sure they have the necessary services and a place to stay.
Due to the county’s partnership with River Edge Behavioral Health Services, Miller will allow more time for the organization to vacate the county building on Emery Highway. (5:25) He had originally planned for them to leave by the end of the first quarter of 2026, but can stay until prospective future development requires demolition of the building, Miller said.
The mayor extended the invitation for his annual Sneaker Ball on Dec. 13 at the City Auditorium. Balcony seats are $40, and some $1000 tables are still available through the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce. Proceeds benefit Miller’s scholarships for local youth. (21:37)
“We want that party to look like our community, and it does. People have fun. They forget about all these partisan politics and forget about where they live, where they work, where they go to school at. It’s just about good old clean fun that we have there, and a lot of love goes on there. So we’re very excited about that.”
Send questions for Ask Mayor Miller to [email protected].
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
