This story was originally published by The Telegraph.
A new initiative is looking to compensate Macon-Bibb residents who are willing to make a difference in their communities.
Macon-Bibb County District 8 Commissioner Virgil Watkins introduced a new online platform comprised of “side gigs” that locals can apply for and get paid to help clean and maintain the county’s sidewalks and right-of-ways.
Although the online portal comes at a time when community members recently united in East Macon after several complaints of neglected sidewalks went unheard, Watkins said his idea has been in the works for some time.
“This is a countywide issue where we have these right-of-ways that are overgrown and just sloppy,” he said. “I know folks are doing volunteer work, but it’s clearly the role of our public works department to maintain the right-of-ways and the sidewalk.”
Each commissioner in Macon has discretion over $30,000 that can be used for public safety needs, according to Watkins.
He decided to use his money to cultivate entrepreneurship in Macon while also engaging the help of economy gig workers to clean up the streets quickly, according to the MaconGigs site.
Watkins said he wants the small-road tasks listed in the portal to merge with SeeClickFix tickets. SeeClickFix is a real-time reporting platform that allows Bibb County residents to report non-emergency issues, such as illegal dumping and overgrown sidewalks, to officials.
If city workers are unable to address a reported problem immediately, then the MaconGigs portal can contract out someone to handle it, Watkins said.
Credit: Woody Marshall
Credit: Woody Marshall
Local residents or businesses must apply for a side job on the website. Once they are accepted, the individual must take pictures to prove that the task has been completed, with pay ranging from $300 to $1500 dollars, according to the website.
“Right now the community is doing the work for free, so I want to be able to compensate them. We don’t just want folks working for free, thinking that’s the new norm,” Watkins added.
Watkins said Macon-Bibb County Commissioners have addressed the ongoing issues of overgrown sidewalks by raising Mayor Lester Miller’s budget proposal for public safety to hire more street crews and equipment.
Last month, Watkins shared online that 14 vendors had already registered to apply for open gigs. The MaconGigs portal was launched in collaboration with the office of Small Business Affairs.
Watkins said road safety and neighborhood cleanliness are important issues to the Macon community.
Government leaders who do not notice a high number of SeeClickFix tickets or residents attending meetings may believe that the community is uninterested, Watkins said.
“This is just the power of people speaking out,” Watkins said, referencing the recent community efforts in East Macon. “More people need to say something. Now, the government is actively looking for ways to solve this problem quickly versus when they thought nobody cared.”
Credit: The Telegraph
Credit: The Telegraph
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