Supervisors set July 13 hearing for street lighting district rates; no increase expected

On July 13, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing to set the San Diego County street lighting district annual assessment for properties in Zone A of that district.

The assessment amount for fiscal year 2011-12 is not expected to increase from the current rate of $6.48 per benefit unit. 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 May 25. The supervisors’ May 25 action also approved the engineer’s report for the street lighting district.

The county’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. Stabilized energy, labor, and material costs have allowed the assessment rate to remain unchanged since 2008.

Other factors enabling the Department of Public Works to maintain the street lights without an assessment increase include development of geographic information system applications, a countywide contract to quicken mobilization and replacement of damaged facilities, and specialized software for formula computation and parcel charges.

“We did a whole business re-engineering process,” said Michele Stress, the Department of Public Works program coordinator for special districts.

Stress added that seeking reimbursement from drivers’ insurance companies has reduced the cost of replacing streetlights damaged from automobiles. “We’ve been really diligent about going after insurance reimbursement,” she said.

An anti-theft program has reduced the unauthorized removal of copper wire since 2008. “We’ve had some theft this year but not as much as in previous years,” Stress said.

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 approximately 10,000 lights, some of which are owned by the county and some of which are owned by San Diego Gas & Electric but for which the San Diego County street lighting district pays the electricity costs. Zone A includes 774 street lights in Fallbrook, 77 in Bonsall, and seven in Rainbow.

The GIS data base is also being used to correct street light counts. “The reason why our counts can be different from year to year is we’re doing a lot of cleanup with our data during the GIS mapping process,” Stress said.

Properties can also be added into Zone A either by a majority weighted vote of property owners or as a condition of a discretionary permit.

Zone A covers more than 100,000 benefit units and 200,000 customers. In 1987, the voters approved an assessment rate of up to $250 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, $5.88 for 2006-07, $6.17 for 2007-08, and $6.48 for 2008-09.