Finance recommends higher streetlight fees; commission sends item to full board without recommendation pending counsel review

The county’s interim finance director reported a growing deficit in the streetlight special fund and presented a recommended fee structure intended to stabilize the program and avoid a transfer from the general fund. Director Tim Schreier said the fund balance had fallen to a roughly $900,000 deficit in 2024 because expenditures have risen faster than revenue. Under the current billing, residents with lights pay an annual residential fee (currently $85) and commercial parcels pay a higher annual fee (currently $107). Many parcels across the county had not historically been billed for streetlights. The finance office recommended a new fee schedule that would, if adopted as presented, increase residential fees to $110 per light and increase commercial fees to $185 per light. The proposal would also bill currently unbilled parcels a base charge of $60 per year for streetlights; the proposal includes an option to reduce the urban-service district millage by roughly one mill so urban taxpayers see an offset in their millage rate. Schreier said the proposed changes would generate a surplus of about $700,000 and, over two years, help eliminate the fund deficit while establishing a two‑month reserve. Why it matters: Streetlight costs are paid by a mix of special fees and millage. Changes affect property tax bills and, as commissioners noted, vary across the county because some municipalities inside Richmond County are currently exempt and because utility ownership (Georgia Power, Jefferson Electric, county-owned lights) differs across the system. Commission action and legal review: The engineering committee heard the presentation and had specific questions about exempted municipalities, homeowner-association (HOA) obligations and how the urban-service millage offset would be implemented. Committee members asked for additional legal review on whether cities such as Hephzibah and Blythe — which have separate municipal status — may be treated differently under the county’s proposed billing changes. The committee forwarded the matter to the full commission without a recommendation and instructed staff and counsel to return with draft ordinance language and legal clarifications. Discussion vs. decision: The committee did not adopt the new fee structure at the meeting. The finance director said a draft amendment to the streetlight ordinance would be prepared with the numbers and returned for final action by the full commission. Any final adoption will require ordinance amendment and formal commission approval before the billing cycle deadline.