WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Thursday morning, Houston County Commission Chairmen Dan Perdue spoke to county leaders about upcoming and current projects.
This is his second month on the job, after taking over from Former Chairman Tommy Stalnaker.
He spoke at the Chamber of Commerce's monthly Eggs and Issues breakfast.
He talked about housing, 2024 SPLOST, taxes, and current and upcoming projects. One of the main topics was public safety.
"Public safety is the pre-requisite for prosperity," says Perdue.
He told Houston County business leaders that they're emphasizing safety to support growth.
"We've got to acknowledge that we are now the largest county in our region, in the latest census we surpassed Macon-Bibb as the largest county," says Perdue.
He says when he thinks of changes he wants to see in the county, he thinks of technology.
"We've got to be willing to look for ways in which we can automate and streamline processes that help reduce our dependence upon labor," he adds.
Perdue says it will help make up for public-safety staffing shortages while also helping to solve crimes.
"We utilize different technology, we have a drone program that we use, we have automated license plate readers, we also use the automated school zone speed enforcement cameras," says Captain Clay Chambers with the Houston County Sheriff's office.
The county has already dedicated $1 million to bringing flock cameras, which read plates and help locate suspects.
Chambers says more technology will help them solve more crimes and be more efficient.
"It definitely helps us, being able to have the camera out there that doesn't sleep, its not out sick, and be able to use that resource all the time to gather the data we need to help solve the crimes in the community," says Chambers.
He says the county is also working on a $4.1 million project to bring a public safety complex to Bonaire.
"It's a growing area and we need more resources to appropriately serve them. In addition to that, its going to serve as a EMS hub and a new Sheriffs Precinct," says Perdue.
He says that complex will also include a fire station.
Other projects include improving safety for pedestrians on Elberta road by widening that street, and expanding the county health department.