Council committee recommends Electric Department FY26 budget after lighting upgrades and staffing changes

John Gerardi, the city electrician, told the Committee on Administration and Finance on May 28 that “pretty much everything is staying the same except for a couple of line differences in maintenance traffic signals.”

The committee recommended approval of the Electric Department’s FY26 budget after Gerardi outlined costs tied to inflation, new lighting work and a brief increase in staffing; members voted to forward the budget to the full council for approval.

Gerardi said higher prices and tariffs increased street-lighting and traffic-signal maintenance costs. He described recent upgrades on Jefferson Avenue and Highland Avenue and said crews are replacing older cobra-head luminaires on major arterials because “we've hit the 10 year mark in regards to the Luminess Life.” He added the department is assisting the Salem Police Department with camera installations and handling routine “click fix” complaints.

Councilors asked about a planned stockpile of parts after supply delays in recent years. Gerardi said the stockpile effort is included in the budget and identified an approximate $40,000–$45,000 allocation “in the budget” under street lighting maintenance. He described a remaining need to purchase more luminaires to address roughly 1,500 street lights in the city, prioritizing main arteries before side streets.

On capital requests Gerardi reviewed five-year plan items including 88 walk-signal button upgrades (he said the buttons cost about $600 each), a $60,000 Ford F-150 to carry equipment and serve the wiring inspector, a $30,000 addition to a Phase 3 smart-signal program and a $175,000 line for street-lighting painting. He described the smart-signal work as completing Derby and Congress up to Hawthorne Boulevard and noted the painting figure was a starting estimate.

Councilor Stott moved to recommend approval of the Electric Department personnel budget ($532,688) and expenditures ($482,542) for a department total of $1,015,230; Councilor Harvey seconded. Chair Tim Merkel recorded the vote as four hands plus his own and said “the matter carries.”

The committee discussed the department’s five-year capital plan and noted that funding sources that require a council vote will be decided at the June 11 meeting.

Less-critical details: Gerardi thanked city leaders for restoring department staffing, and councilors thanked him and his team for the Jefferson Avenue and other upgrades that residents have noticed.