Macon-Bibb County’s mayor and county commissioners concluded their last meeting of 2024 Tuesday evening looking toward 2025 and a new term in office.
They called on the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections to hold a March 18 election to ask voters to renew the extra penny Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, for the next 10 years or until $450 million dollars is collected.
The 2018 SPLOST could reach its $280 million cap as early as mid-2025 and, if approved by voters, the county has set the new SPLOST to go into effect on Oct. 1, 2025, or sooner, depending on the sunset of the prior SPLOST.
Commissioners amended the FY24 Budget that closed June 30 to account for additional revenues not projected and the subsequent spending to balance the budget.
They also shifted nearly $58 million to the FY25 budget to cover outstanding invoices from the prior budget year.
The county accepted more than $165K in grants for the district attorney and solicitor general’s office from Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Victim of Crime Act, approved a $2,000 grant from Irving Tissue to fund Emergency Management Agency calendars featuring safety tips and artwork from Bibb students.
Commissioners agreed to accept nearly $158K in grant funds for technology and equipment for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
The county also plans to hire S2k Consulting to audit hundreds of county phone lines to determine which could be disconnected. County Manager Keith Moffett said the project could save the county $500,000 in phone bills going forward.
The contract calls for Macon-Bibb’s IT budget to pay the company $120 per hour and 50% of the county’s savings the first year after the lines are reorganized.
Commissioners rejected alcohol licenses for Stevis Food Plus on Anthony Road and Central Pantry on Womack Street because they do not sell enough fresh foods to qualify as a food mart and tabled the license request for Vineville Food Mart due to concerns the store’s fuel pumps are not in working order. They approved alcohol licenses for 11 other local businesses.
The final meeting of 2024 came just hours after the county’s inauguration ceremony to swear in Mayor Lester Miller for a second term and have returning and new county commissioners take the oath of office. The new term begins Jan. 1.
Miller recalled his first inauguration four years ago when the country was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic challenges.
“While other cities floundered and struggled, we rose up, we faced those challenges together and were stronger because of it,” Miller told the audience at the City Auditorium.
Miller said he uses the term “we” because of community teamwork.
“It’s all of us doing what we can each and every day to make our community better,” he said. “Leadership has committed to changing our community for the better together. What’s in store for the next four years? Buckle up, because we’re about to go for a wild ride.”
The following is a summary of the day’s proceedings captured in social media posts.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
