Macon and Bibb County leaders lay out plan for consolidation
NewsCentral Staff
Story Created:
Aug 1, 2012 at 5:58 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Aug 1, 2012 at 6:33 PM EDT
After a historic vote Tuesday, Macon Mayor Robert Reichert and Bibb County Board of Commissioners Chairman, held a press conference Wednesday to figure out exactly how their two governments will merge, and what exactly it's going to look like.
"People are going to begin to see some changes, I would say certainly within the next six to twelve months," Reichert said, during the press conference.
A fifteen person transition team, made up mostly of elected officials, will begin laying the groundwork for consolidation by September 1st. Five of those fifteen members will be appointed by Bibb County's state lawmakers, and Reichert says they are likely to be former elected officials and community leaders.
"People who are known and recognized in the community, and have the faith and support and confidence of the community," Reichert said.
Reichert says the groups top priority will be to create a time line for the transition, and examine how to best use public facilities like City Hall.
"Is it going to be a surplus building, or is the new unified building going to locate here?" Reichert asked rhetorically.
The merger of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office and Macon Police Department would seem to call for eliminating some jobs, but Reichert says that isn't necessarily true.
"There's going to be some people, I'm confident, that are going to find this to be the perfect opportunity to retire," Reichert said.
