Commissioners OK $221M budget; Miller again hints at third term

The Macon-Bibb County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Mayor Lester Miller’s proposed 2027 budget at its regular meeting Tuesday.

The $221 million budget for the new fiscal year beginning July 1 assumes no increase to the current millage rate, which may or may not mean a tax increase depending on the tax digest figures expected in the coming weeks.

Rising costs due to inflation, the exhaustion of federal money from the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in property tax revenue over the past few years have made for lean times in the county government. Miller said he asked department heads to identify a 10% budget cut.

“We get requests all the time from all of our departments,” Miller said. “We can’t always provide everything that everyone needs unless taxpayers are just willing to open up their wallet and give the money for everything they have. So we have to have priorities. … Things simply cost more than they did several years ago.”

The budget Miller presented weeks ago shows personnel costs make up about 55% with salary and benefits at $122.6 million. That’s up by nearly $22.7 million from 2021.

The lion’s share of the budget is for public safety — which includes the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the fire department, emergency management services, the coroner’s office, courts, the district attorney’s office and, as of recently, code enforcement. Combined, those departments make up nearly 60% of the county’s $221.5 million county budget.

The sheriff’s office’s budget is $60.1 million, up by about $3.4 million compared to last year and up by about $12 million compared to 2021.

The fire department will get $34.4 million, about $7.3 million more than it received in 2021. The budget proposal included requests from the department for body armor for protection in hostile environments and a new van for educational purposes.

The proposed budget for courts is $26.2 million, a figure that is more than double the 2021 amount.

In other business, a question about a contract for fireworks prompted the mayor to hint that he isn’t giving up on his quest for a county charter amendment that would allow him to seek a third term. The charter limits the mayor to two consecutive terms.

A bill introduced by state Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, would have allowed Miller to serve a third term but also would remove term limits for county commissioners. The bill did not get much traction among members of the local delegation and effectively died at the end of the most recent session of the Georgia General Assembly. Lucas or another legislator will have to reintroduce the bill or a similar one if the effort to change the charter is to be restarted.

The mayor’s comment came up as Commissioner Stanley Stewart asked about a multi-year contract with South Carolina-based Munnerlyn Pyrotechnics for the Fourth of July fireworks show at Lake Tobesofkee.

“I’m in agreement with it, of course, but I was trying to figure out why five years because it’s going to post-date your administration,” Stewart said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Miller said. “It comes up every year for renewal. … You’re assuming it’s going to post-date my administration, but yeah. We can make that assumption.”

County records show the company was hired to launch fireworks for the Independence Day celebration at Lake Tobesofkee in 2019 for $15,060. The county hired the company again in 2020, which cost $15,000 from the county’s Lake Tobesofkee department budget. This year’s contract is for $27,500 and will be paid for from the professional services budget for promotions and public relations items.