Spencerport, N.Y. (WHAM) — These days, Ogden Town Supervisor Mike Zale says, people are paying more and more attention to what’s being billed
Spencerport , N.Y. — Every year, town taxes come due. These days, Ogden Town Supervisor Mike Zale“But when I see the tax bill and I'm like, 'What? What is this lighting district ?'” he asked, assuming the role of a resident asking the question.
Zale sat down with 13WHAM News to explain a charge some residents have been asking about: those for lighting districts. One social media post in particular got a conversation going when a Spencerport resident was asking about a fee for $37.89. Zale helped to shed some light. He said the town of Ogden, which includes the village of Spencerport, has a number of these districts. "Towns can actually own every aspect of the light," Zale said. "They can own the light itself, the wiring, the poles, if they choose to." "But most towns, including the town of Ogden, we don't own the service itself and the maintenance," Zale continued. "The responsibility is due to the provider.” That provider is Rochester Gas & Electric. Zale said RG&E takes responsibility for the lights, with Monroe County building a consortium, purchasing discounted electricity for the lights in each district. That charge is then billed to the town. “, the town's job is to collect that tax from each resident who lives within that district, and we collect that from people's tax bills,” said Zale. Then the town pays Monroe County, then Monroe County pays RG&E."I have not heard of them before," Washnis said. "It is new news." Washnis added it's good people are focusing closer attention on their tax bills and asking questions. Zale said most towns in Monroe County do this, and some parts of Ogden don’t get charged lighting. It depends on where you live. “If you live in any district, water, sewer, lighting district, it will be spelled out on your tax form, so it all of it is completely transparent," said Zale." "But it's not on every tax," he added. "If you do not live in a lighting district, you wouldn't see this on your tax bill. If you don't live in a sewer district or a water district, you wouldn't see that on your tax bill." Zale noted Greece is one town that doesn't have such a charge because it owns all the lighting infrastructure in the town."The town invested in converting the lights to LED," he said. "We don't own the lights, but we heard from RG&E that if we were to convert to more efficient lights like LED, that the cost would actually be cheaper to residents, so we've actually seen a decrease in the cost to residents because the town invested in more efficient lighting throughout the town, in all of these different districts."
Lighting District Spencerport Tax Bill Monroe County Residents Ogden Rochester Gas & Electric Led Newsletter Daily Local
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