Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller says school zone speed camera revenue will go toward public safety

According to Miller, Macon-Bibb County has collected $8,909,152.76 in revenue from camera detected speeding fines over the past three years.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller and County Commissioners agreed to appropriate $3 million of school zone speeding camera revenue to enhance public safety.

According to Mayor Miller, Macon-Bibb County has collected $8,909,152.76 in revenue from camera-detected speeding fines over the past three years. The plan calls for $2 million to be used for raising the salary of non-certified public safety employees, including both current and new hires. These raises would start with the fire department and the sheriff’s office, and boost salaries by $5,000 per year.

“A lot of people say, well, we should have more deputies,” Mayor Miller said. “This is a way to give a $5,000 increase in pay to be competitive so we can make the roads safer and the children safer.” 

The proposal also calls for $1 million to go to the Bibb County School District to attract and retain more school resource officers and install new and update existing crosswalks to make roads safer for students walking to school.

But Georgia lawmakers and their constituents have argued about the effectiveness of the cameras. This week, state Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) reintroduced a bill to sunset the program that allows the use of the cameras.

“Whatever happens is going to happen before midnight on Friday night,” Miller said. “We’ll get our direction from them at the time, and we’ll take the appropriate steps.”

Mayor Miller argues the cameras have enhanced public safety, saying there’s been a reduction in the number of tickets given out per camera. He says the county will await the general assembly’s decision on the cameras to determine if and how these raises will be made possible.

We’re not giving raises and new deputy pay and taking them away,” Mayor Miller said. “So, we’ll figure out how to work them in our budget and make increases where we need to and make cuts where we need to.”

Reports show Miller received a $1,000 campaign donation from a top executive at the school zone camera company Altumint. Mayor Miller denies that the donation or his relationship with the executive has influenced his stance on the cameras.

“It was also two years after we installed this program, so it was not to entice me to do anything, I would never do that,” Mayor Miller said. “Is it fair for a lawyer to practice before a judge and give money to their campaign, is that a conflict? It’s legally allowed. So, we play by whatever rules that are out there for us. If the rule changes, we change what we do. But we’re always going to be above the law.”