Macon Magazine

down this year, to date, 25% for the year and 50% for May, June, and July, the most difficult months. In May of last year, we had 10 or 11 homicides. This year we had five. In June 2022 we had six; in 2023, two. So we're seeing some decrease, and hopefully that trend continues. A lot of that's based on things we've done. We've changed some policies on vice-marts, basically places that don't sell gasoline. For example, we filed a nuisance case against a store on Houston Avenue. Since that store shut down, we haven't had a homicide there at Pendleton Homes. BLIGHT & CODE ENFORCEMENT JG: Let's talk about those blighted housing and Code Enforcement, which you've expanded measurably. Mayor Miller: During my campaign we visited all areas of the community and listened to complaints. A lot were about blighted homes affecting crime and neighborhoods. So I made Code Enforcement a freestanding department. We had 600 blighted houses cases waiting to go through the court process and they all expired prior to my taking office. We've done [demolition on] 530 in two years because of J.T.'s leadership and the officers he hired. Eliminating blight has exposed a lot of crime. Code Enforcement also been involved in the nuisance per se in hotels, with homeless camps that pop up, and with illegal street vendors that cause problems. They help with aggressive panhandlers, issue warrants, and can run checks and fingerprinting on site, like on a suspected sex offender. They also can handle things like illegal parking on streets and alleys. Now, sworn Code Enforcement officers have the authority to tow cars blocking alleys late at night. Previously, only BSO could do that. They inspect the vice-marts to make sure they meet the qualifications for food, cameras, and security, tasks that free up sheriff's deputies to do other things. People have accused me of setting up my own police department with Code Enforcement. JG: What's your response? Mayor Miller: It's a valuable department, and if we ever had a police department, it would be a good start. But I've been very intentional about not taking deputies from the sheriff's department because I never want to hurt their numbers. THE COMMISSION JG: When we spoke before your installation you mentioned your intent to have an open-door policy with the county commissioners. How's your working relationship with them? Mayor Miller: My door is always open, literally, and they know they can come to me with any issue. I have a good working relationship with all the commissioners, and a couple who didn't support me when I ran for mayor are some of my best allies. Elaine Lucas, who openly supported my opponent, now supports me to the extent that she recognized me with a proclamation and a brick to mark the demolition of our 500th house. And the NAACP surprised me with an award, with all the commissioners joining me on stage. The committee chair system was very contentious, and we changed it right after I got elected. Now we meet as a Committee of the Whole. It's something I did as president of the school board. It was effective there and I brought it to city government. With the committee system it only took three votes to prevent an item from appearing on the agenda. There were arguments about items that never should have been on the agenda because they never had a chance of passing, resulting in hard feelings, grandstanding, wasted time, and hurt relationships. We no longer spend hours on things that aren't going to happen. If someone tells me they have five people to support something, I put it on the agenda. I can still veto if I don't like it, but I haven't vetoed an item yet. But that's largely because people don't come here for the Tuesday night fights anymore. There's not a lot of bickering. BUDGET JG: You're pretty happy about the new budget. Mayor Miller: We're in the best financial state ever. We increased our budget by decreasing the milage rate, which is almost impossible. Our budget is about $204 million right now and taxes already went down five mils this year. It's probably going to be more than that once the tax digest comes out, so we're providing better services for less money. That's partially because the OLOST passed by 80%, which is one of the things I ran on. That's a community accomplishment because our bond rating went up two levels. ACCOMPLISHMENTS JG: Of which of your accomplishments are you most proud? Mayor Miller: We won the state visionary award for the Brookdale Resource Center, and now we've got gardens there that will feed 100 people for a year. We've grown 1,227 pounds of food so far this year. Hydroponics are coming and we'll do other projects on the other two acres. Eventually, we'll grow enough food so that some of the people there can sell the produce and use it for down payment assistance for homes. In August I've got 15 mayors coming to tour Brookdale which could be a model across Georgia. We recently added indoor showers, and washers and dryers. Over 150 people that I know of have gotten jobs and 65 have moved into houses, apartments, or permanent residences. Kids are getting a good education there because we have tutors there, and students get picked up from the bus stop by the school system. Veterans get served there, and there's drug and alcohol treatment, and mental health. Our new roads program will be off the chain, which people will love. JG: Surface roads? Mayor Miller: The mom-and-pop roads with all the potholes, the ones people complain about all the time. In past county budgets, they only spent $700,000 a year and we're increasing that amount five times. And we're AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 | maconmagazine.com 77

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