Homeowners in Los Angeles may soon have to pay more to keep street lights on. They are being asked to vote on increasing the street light assessment.
With thousands of street lights across Los Angeles going dark, the city is asking homeowners to decide whether they're willing to pay more to keep neighborhoods illuminated.
More than 500,000 property owners have received ballots proposing an increase to the city's streetlighting assessment, which has not been raised since 1996. The measure would add an average of $144 per year to property tax bills and higher depending on the type and size of the property. If approved, the increase is expected to generate roughly $125 million annually.
"We walk the neighborhood at night and we feel more comfortable that it's lit up," Reichman said. He added that he wants assurances the money will be spent responsibly: "My concern is... that the dollar we are taxed is actually fixing somebody's streetlight somewhere.
" City officials say the funding is urgently needed. Los Angeles operates more than 220,000 streetlights, and copper wire theft has surged by more than 1,200% over the past decade, leaving many blocks in the dark. Supporters argue the current assessment - set 30 years ago - no longer covers the cost of repairs or theft-related damage.
"We need the streetlights," said Chatsworth resident Richard Mathews. "Continuing to fund it at 1996 levels just isn't going to work. ""What are they prioritizing the budget to do? " asked Susan Shelley of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
"Why do they need more taxes for firefighters and more taxes for streetlights and more taxes for everything that should be covered as a priority in the budget? " Shelley says the proposal does nothing about the underlying crime and vandalism contributing to outages. "They're not addressing the crime and vandalism that destroying the infrastructure so this is a tax increase that's going up 120% t from the current street light assessment," says Shelley.
The streetlighting ballot is separate from regular election ballots and must be returned in its own envelope. Ballots for the street light assessment must be received by June 2 to be counted. Significant warmup begins building across SoCal. Here's how hot it will get
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