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Supervisors set hearing for Street Lighting District increase

On July 25 the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing to increase the San Diego County Street Lighting District annual assessment from $5.88 to $6.17 per benefit unit for properties in Zone A of that district.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors, who also serve as the board of the San Diego County Street Lighting District, set the hearing date on June 13. The supervisors’ June 13 action also approved the Engineer’s Report for the street lighting district.

The increase reflects the increased cost of labor, material, and electricity. The increase is expected to generate an additional $29,580 for the district. Electricity costs account for approximately 90 percent of the district’s expenses.

The County of San Diego’s Department of Public Works, which operates the San Diego County Street Lighting District, has adopted a policy of slight annual increases to keep pace with energy costs rather than a large increase as was the case in 2004.

“The idea is to do slow increments. There’s no need to raise it higher than we did,” said Michele Stress, the Department of Public Works program coordinator for special districts.

“We look at the budget, and we look at what we need to do the operations for that year,” Stress said. “We look at how much we need to do the services that we provide.”

The San Diego County Street Lighting District was formed in September 1987. The district itself includes the entirety of unincorporated San Diego County; Zone A covers parcels which benefit from street lights in the district while Zone B consists of the remainder of the district. The district operates more than 9,800 lights; approximately 60 percent of the lights are owned by the county while the remaining lights are owned by San Diego Gas & Electric. Zone A includes 809 street lights in Fallbrook and 80 in Bonsall.

Zone A covers approximately 102,000 benefit units and 200,000 customers. The voters approved an assessment rate of up to $25.00 per year per benefit unit, with a single-family home equating to one benefit unit, although in 1990 the fee was reduced from $23 to $2.50 per benefit unit. That $2.50 assessment remained unchanged until 2004, when rising energy costs and a state budget shift from special districts did not allow increased efficiency to offset the additional expenses.

The assessment was increased to $5.33 per benefit unit for Fiscal Year 2004-05, $5.60 for 2005-06, and $5.88 for 2006-07.

 

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