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DPW outlines revolving accounts, says road-maintenance fund is paying $1.3M of monthly streetlight bills
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Summary
Department of Public Works officials told the House committee that the road maintenance revolving account and other restricted accounts underpin operations; DPW said it is using that fund to cover streetlight utility bills and reported account balances for building code and tipping fees.
Department of Public Works officials detailed the department's revolving-account balances and described how the road maintenance account is being tapped for utilities, including streetlights billed by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC).
"Road maintenance ... we're looking at about 2.5" million, and "I've reserved all of that for the CUC street lights billing," Secretary Ray Yumo told lawmakers, adding DPW expects to pay about $1.3 million for streetlights because the annual budget did not include those utility costs. DPW said it would prefer to reserve road-maintenance funds for striping, pothole repairs and routine road upkeep, but has used the account to cover utilities and emergency needs.
Why it matters: the department is using a fund intended for road maintenance to pay recurring utility bills, reducing cash available for road upkeep at a time local members said road maintenance is inadequate.
Balances and revolving accounts DPW cited: - Building safety code fees: about $229,000 (DPW cited this as the building-code revolving balance). - Solid-waste tipping-fee account: cited by DPW at about $656,000 but DPW officials said the account may be negative after contract encumbrances. - Road maintenance account: DPW cited about $2.5 million and said it had reserved roughly $1.3 million for monthly CUC streetlight obligations; DPW said those obligations are being paid from the road maintenance account because the annual budget does not include utility appropriation for streetlights.
Streetlights and outages: DPW presented maps showing nonoperable lights. Yumo said a public reporting approach was under way and that a map prepared in August 2024 showed roughly 218 nonoperable streetlights; he asked residents to photograph and report nonworking fixtures to CUC and DPW so CUC could log a trouble ticket.
Right of way fees and signage: Noel Odeen, acting head of the right-of-way office, told the committee the new right-of-way fees include a baseline charge for up to four signs at $100 per year; the office has collected initial small amounts (for example, roughly $3,500 from Liberation Parade lots) and said it will refine fee language to address sidewalks and drainage modifications in future rule updates.
Committee direction: members suggested statutory or budget language to clarify the intended use of revolving accounts and to require agencies to seek reimbursements from federal sources where eligible.
