On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Mayor Lester Miller presented to the Commission and public the Proposed Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. During that presentation the Mayor announced he is proposing a property tax reduction of at least 5 mills. This will be the third consecutive year Mayor Miller reduced property taxes, taking it from 20.331 when he took office to about 12.901.

You can see the PowerPoint presentation, find the budget timeline,
read the required legal ad running in The Telegraph on May 17,
and more by clicking here.

“We promised to find a way for government to operate more efficiently and provide services in the areas that people said were the most important,” said Mayor Miller. “And while we’re reducing your property taxes, we are increasing funds for the areas and projects people said were most important to them.”

Even with the reductions, Macon-Bibb has been able to increase funding for the projects and areas the community said were the most important.

“This community came out by the thousands to let us know what they expected of their government, of what they said was most important to them and their families,” added Mayor Miller. “Our team remains committed to making sure we are using these funds to tackle the issues – big or small – that our neighborhoods face.”

For example, in three years, funding for public safety has increase nearly $12 million, recreation and beautification has increased more than $3.5 million, economic development has increased more than $4 million,

“I have to thank our Budget and Finance teams for the work putting together this year’s budget, and for working so closely with our departments and partners to focus funding on our community’s top priorities,” says Mayor Miller.

During the presentation, the Mayor made sure to celebrate the work done the past year as Team Macon-Bibb and thanked many of the community agencies and organizations that were involved. That included opening the new Fire Training Academy, having dozens of neighborhood cleanups as part of Clean Streets Matter, removing the 500th blighted and dangerous structure from the neighborhoods, more than $650 million in private investment, more than 1,100 jobs created or retained, and more.

“This has been a banner year for Macon-Bibb, from projects to economic development to neighborhood improvement to a stronger sense of community,” said Mayor Miller. “And that’s because this is always about us being a team. We have great partner and we have great people working together.”

Included in this year’s budget is funding for:

Annual public safety incentive pay;
Increased road repair and pothole filling;
Increased beautification efforts;
Installing traffic calming measures and signage;
The ongoing Blight Fight;
The GBI’s new Crime Task Force offices in Downtown;
Attracting new events to promote the city;
Bringing in new industries and support existing ones;
And more.