Residents and councillors weigh $2.50 monthly streetlight utility to cover $160,000 cost

The City & Safety Services Committee spent significant time Feb. 2 discussing an administration proposal to create a streetlight utility that would add a $2.50-per-month charge to residential and business bills to raise roughly $160,000 to cover streetlight electricity and maintenance.

Administration staff explained the city is responsible for approximately 400 city-owned street lights and is charged for roughly 700 AEP-owned lights; committee materials estimate that a $2.50 monthly fee would roughly cover the shortfall. Aaron Thomas, a resident, told the committee he "doesn't wanna be a cheap person when it comes to $2.50 a month, but it is $30 a year" and said the flat fee is regressive for a city with many residents on fixed incomes. Holden Hodges, a graduate student, urged the city to prefer progressive approaches to avoid burdening low-income residents.

Council members raised alternatives including: working with NOPEC (the Northern Ohio Public Energy Council) to procure better rates (PUCO approval for NOPEC expansion into commercial/industrial areas was noted), considering purchase of AEP poles, LED conversions, or a solar-microgrid pilot on specific streetlight circuits. Member Wood pressed for guardrails, asking whether the ordinance could legally cap future increases; the mayor and members said the council, not the utility vendor, sets the fee and any change would require council action.

Next steps: The committee asked the administration to provide electricity usage, contract information and cost estimates, to forward data to NOPEC for comparison, and to host a vendor presentation at the next meeting before any formal legislation is drafted.