Macon Magazine

together a team to pass it. Taxpayers need relief, which will include a 100 percent rollback in taxes for businesses and home owners. I don't mind revenue neutral, but this will allow us to fund projects in public safety, recreation and the arts. We want the local delegation's approval so it can be on the ballot as a referendum later this year. It's impossible to do an OLOST and a TSPLOST on the same ballot so we have to prioritize. We can work on smaller projects, like general maintenance and upkeep of roads, without passing the TSPLOST. JG: BUT HOW DO YOU MAKE UP THE REVENUE? MAYOR: You don't make it up. There's a period of time when you collect the money before distributing it. It shores up the money in your account so there's a safety net and you can spend money in the general fund. By saving SPLOST money, we can pay down debt from the general fund this year. Our administration will have an additional $10 million in debt that we didn't have the last several years due to the pay scale and not putting enough debt in the SPLOST initially. So, now that money comes out of the general fund instead of SPLOST dollars. We'll start our five-year waste plan in January and I want to clean up every gateway into Macon, which includes every highway and exit. One of my priorities is to open convenience centers, which I'll bring to the commissioners for approval early on. JG: WHAT'S A CONVENIENCE CENTER? MAYOR: It's a drive-thru location within three or four miles of your home where you can bring recyclables and anything but household garbage free of charge, which will reduce illegal dumping. Each convenience center will be serviced by an employee who ensures that the people using it are Bibb County residents, and he tells them where to put the various items. I want five convenience centers and have already identified three properties. This also frees up money to work with Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful on neighborhood clean-ups. Every quarter we'll roll out as many bins as requested countywide and on the same Saturday we'll do free pick-ups for debris, recyclables and other items. This probably will save $4 million to $5 million in SPLOST money. All of the sexy money is out of the SPLOST. The goody has been gotten out. I'm the mayor who gets to work on water, sewage and roads. Using SPLOST funds to pay off debt frees up money in the general fund we can use for blight and remediation and to tear down and rehab houses. BLIGHT AND CLEAN-UP JG: HUNDREDS OF BLIGHTED HOUSES HAVE BEEN TORN DOWN, BUT THOUSANDS REMAIN. IS THERE A MORE EFFICIENT, LESS BURDENSOME APPROACH TO ERADICATING BLIGHT? MAYOR: I hope the commission will approve former GBI special agent J.T. Ricketson as director of the new code enforcement department. Ricketson, who ran for sheriff, will be assisted by four abatement officers. Currently, the local ordinance states that if we get a demolition order on a house it must be demolished within 270 days. Out of the current list of around 600 properties that have been approved for demolition, none can be removed because all have been on the list longer than 270 days. It's a faulty process and the properties could be worthless because of our own ordinance. We'll need to change some ordinances and expedite the process. Municipal court will deal with blight only, traffic citations will move to state court and we're studying best practices across the U.S. Sizing Up Miller DARYL MORTON, SCHOOL BOARD COLLEAGUE, SUCCEEDED HIM AS PRESIDENT: "Lester is the quintessential servant leader. He is relentless in the pursuit of doing what he feels is right. He doesn't seek credit for doing the right thing but is satisfied knowing that the right thing was done. I've never seen anyone work harder to make his community better. Frankly, I don't know when he sleeps." JIM CRISP, TRANSITION TEAM MEMBER AND THEATRE MACON FOUNDER: "Lester Miller began his tenure as mayor by listening. Our opening retreat was an impressive two days filled with the substantial thoughts and ideas from a vividly diverse group and some of Macon's most experienced leaders. Many voices were heard. The resulting strategic plan will be a superb launching pad for the future of this community. Kudos to Mayor Miller for creating this team and for listening with an open mind and heart. The future of Macon-Bibb is in excellent hands." THELMA DILLARD, SCHOOL BOARD COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND: "Lester is fearless and a man of his word. He has an outstanding work ethic and a unique way of bringing people together whether they like him or not. He is a born leader and a family man who genuinely cares about people and his community. Lester can make a decision on his feet and does whatever it takes to get things done. He's always searching for a better way to do things." FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 | maconmagazine.com 37

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