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Ferguson Staff to Rework 35‑Year‑Old Streetlight and Hydrant Assessment Methods
Summary
Staff recommended the board revisit streetlight and fire hydrant assessment methods that rely on decades‑old proximity rules; supervisors asked for options including removing the fee and funding lights from the general fund, and directed staff to return with cost and GIS‑based alternatives.
Ferguson Township staff told the Board of Supervisors on May 6 that the township’s streetlight and fire hydrant assessment methodologies—based on 35‑year‑old distance rules—should be updated using modern GIS tools and current development patterns.
Assistant Township Manager and the township engineer ran a mapping analysis and reported 574 properties are currently assessed the streetlight fee under the existing proximity approach. Staff suggested the board consider keeping the fee with a revised methodology, eliminating the assessment and funding streetlights from municipal revenues, or other hybrid approaches. Supervisors asked staff to provide cost comparisons (for example, total streetlight system cost divided across all taxpayers versus a targeted assessment) and to show how the change would appear in the budget.
On hydrants, staff noted the township uses an 800‑foot proximity metric and that hydrant counts used for assessment may not match the Water Authority’s field inventory; the board directed staff to coordinate a hydrant reconciliation with the water authority and return with recommendations.
Outcome: Board asked staff to return with a comparative analysis of options, GIS‑based assessment alternatives, cost estimates, and a proposed ordinance amendment if needed.
