How Macon has spent $8.9 million collected from school zone speeding tickets

Macon-Bibb County has collected more than $8.9 million from citations issued to motorists for speeding past the controversial automated school zone speed cameras, Mayor Lester Miller said Tuesday. 

Altumint, the Maryland-based company that owns the cameras and contracts with the county, kept $2.78 million of the total $11.2 million paid by drivers ticketed in Bibb County as of Feb. 7, according to public records. The first speed cameras were installed early in 2022. 

At its regular meeting Tuesday, county commissioners voted to earmark $3 million for public safety purposes.

The board approved transferring $1 million to the Bibb County School District to recruit and retain school police officers, improve existing crosswalks in school zones and install new ones. It also approved $2 million for the county’s public safety fund to recruit and retain public safety employees.

“We are starting with (the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office) and the fire department for their starting pay for new hires,” county spokesperson Chris Floore said. 

The $3 million approved Tuesday brings the county’s total expenditures to $8.2 million. That leaves a little more than $600,000 in unspent revenue from the cameras. 

Here’s how the money was spent, according to the county. 

The county spent $3,592,000 in November:

• $300,000 for school crossing guards
• $92,000 for radio equipment for the code enforcement department
• $2.7 million for Verkada cameras, FLOCK cameras, body cameras, car cameras, tasers and drones
• $500,000 for flashing lights in school zones

In recent months, the county spent $1.2 million:

• $270,000 for commissioner’s public safety projects ($30,000 per district in 2023)
• $930,000 for vehicles, lighting and emergency key boxes so the fire department can get into schools

Last August, the county spent $500,000 on the third round of Macon Violence Prevention grants including:

• $20,000 to 100 Black Men of Middle Georgia Inc. for its Academy to Inspire reading program at Bruce Elementary School
• $25,000 to Appleton Family Ministries for its summer literacy program targeting students at Ingram-Pye, Lewis and Southfield elementary schools.
• $40,000 to Campus Clubs for its program called Creating Avenues of Change for at-risk youth
• $50,000 to Central Georgia CASA Inc. to expand its advocacy services for youths in foster care
• $30,000 to Communities in Schools of Central Georgia Inc.
• $12,500 to C-QUL to “activate community spaces” through programming at the Booker T. Washington Center and in Linear Park
• $25,000 to the Diamonds on Our Mind Foundation for its “a C.H.A.N.C.E Creating Hope & Nurturing Community Engagement 4 Males” program to support its partnership with the Bibb County School District and Men About Change to address low attendance and enhance the physical, nutritional and educational well-being of students
• $25,000 to the Epsilon Beta Lambda Foundation Inc. for its “Alpha Esquires Mentoring” program; the money will pay for transportation, lodging, meals and marketing for trips and visits including the Alabama Civil Rights Trail Tour and a HBCU tour in Nashville, Tennessee
• $40,000 to the Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia for mental health counseling and case management services
• $15,000 to the Girls Dig Deeper Initiative for its “The Winners’ Mindset” and “Project reNew” programs
• $30,000 to Grow Macon Inc. to expand supervised activities for east Macon youth
• $33,000 to the I Am King Foundation Inc. for its “I am King Boys Camp,” which expands youth services such as summer camp, mental health services and tutoring
• $50,000 to Lead with Literacy for its “Macon Family Time” program, which aims to engage 30 families with expert family coaches through an 11-week program 
• $75,000 to Living Bread Restoration Outreach Inc. for its Victory Academy After School Program, which serves youth ages 5-18 by offering opportunities such as exposure, mentorship and exploration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) career paths
• $15,000 to Macon Black Culture for its initiative to engage youth ages 11-17 with year round arts, culture and humanities programs
• $20,000 to Macon Hope Inc. for Golf Camps for Middle Georgia youth
• $15,000 to the Macon-Bibb County Health Department for its “Project SHIELD: Students Helping Individuals Engage Life’s Dilemmas,” a training program for youth mental health first aid
• $30,000 to Men About Change Inc. for its after school and summer programs for youth ages 5-18 featuring literacy, academic support, mentorship and mental health services through a “learning for life” approach
• $65,000 to Middle Georgia Justice for it to offer services crucial in helping individuals resolve issues related to their criminal histories and address a fundamental barrier to employment and societal reintegration
• $90,000 to Next Level Community Development Center Inc. for it to expand its prevention/intervention services including mental health support, seasonal camps for marginalized youth ages 5-19, academic support and more 
• $40,000 to PACE Center for Girls Inc. for its Empowering Girls Against Violence program, which aims to enhance school success, reduce delinquency and improve mental health outcomes for at-risk girls ages 11-18
• $40,000 to Real IMPACT Center Inc. to facilitate travel and enhance retention for its programs to empower girls in third through 12th grade to close the gender gap in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education by offering hands-on learning, mentorships and more
• $30,000 to United Way of Central Georgia for its Parent AcSELerator Program, which aims to enhance parenting skills and families by providing personalized support to parents of students at L.H. Williams Elementary School
• $30,000 to United Way of Central Georgia for its “Ma-Con men better” program, which aims to support and educate men using evidence-based practices to promote non-violent conflict resolution
• $10,000 to United Way of Central Georgia for its after school mural project for sheltered youth ages 8-17 at Brookdale Resource Center