MACON, Ga. — Each Macon neighborhood has its own unique needs.
Some need better lighting, others want more community programs, and a few neighborhoods have a road notorious for speeding. Now, each Macon-Bibb County commissioner has all of 2024 to spend $30,000 on public safety improvements in their districts.
The money comes from an ordinance that was approved Dec. 19.
"We've done a pretty good job of keeping it clean, but as you can see, somebody's dumping tires again," Commissioner Bill Howell said about an empty lot off Houston Avenue.
Piles of tires and other trash line some streets in Howell's district. It's a recurring problem.
"Any time you ride through here, people seem to find this a neat place to dump or a convenient place to dump. The neighbor here has said that they see people doing it fairly regularly," Howell said.
So, he knows how he wants to spend the money approved last week: Cameras to catch people dumping trash illegally.
"It'll certainly pinpoint who's doing it," Howell said.
In north Macon, Commissioner Valerie Wynn has her own plans. The money can only go to public safety or law enforcement projects, according to the ordinance.
"Pedestrian plateaus or traffic calmers or speed bumps or whatever you want to call them," Wynn said.
She plans to add them on Forest Hill Road.
"People just fly down this road, still. It's like a race track," she said.
Wynn also plans to add signs that light up to tell drivers they're speeding. They're already in school zones, but she wants them along the whole road.
Howell has other plans, too.
"We have a lot of underprivileged children, especially in some of the school system. There are several after-school programs, and I'd like to help out with that with some of this money," he said.
Several other commissioners weren't available for interviews Wednesday, but Commissioner Elaine Lucas and Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark shared their plans.
Lucas wants to add more lighting in east Macon to bolster pedestrian safety. Clark says he's exploring his options and is considering giving some of his shares to Macon Violence Prevention program groups.
Commissioners can share the money with each other or give it to other groups who can use it, as long as they fit the uses described in the ordinance.
They have until the end of 2024 to use the money.
The ordinance also includes another $930,000 for public safety initiatives county-wide. Flashing lights for school zones, security cameras for the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, and more ATVs for what the county calls 'community policing' efforts made the list.