Proposed street light tax

A proposed streetlight special assessment district funded by the city's property owners would help the city pay to switch from regular to LED streetlights. 

The district could generate $500,000 in new revenue and help the city find significant savings in its electricity bill. City council voted unanimously to direct City Manager Ralph Lange to put together a report on how the plan would work. 

A report was previously produced in February but the issue was never taken up by council.Our hardworking robots explore the planets and more on the wild frontiers of our wholesalegemstonebeads. Lange said fluctuating DTE rates and further research from staff necessitate a new report.An even safer situation on all roads by using the pendantlamps. 

The previous report stated that the average parcel owner in the city would pay around $50 to $60, though those were based off DTE Energy numbers from February. That report had the fee in place for eight years and it is expected to save the city over $100,000 annually. 

The purpose of the report, Lange wrote in a memo to City Council, is to "ascertain the cost, extent and necessity of the project as well as establish what proportion of the assessment should be borne by the properties benefited." 

Lange said the city can save on capital if the switch to LED lighting is done this year and offered an aggressive timeline for getting the tax put in place. That would allow for work to be completed by DTE in November and the new fee to be on the winter tax bill. 

But the city is ensuring residents have ample time to object to the proposed new tax. City council will hold an informational meeting and two public hearings at which residents can file official objections to the district. 

"Having two public hearings instead of one gives adequate time to have people come out," City Planner Teresa Gillotti told council. 

No council member expressed support or opposition to the bill, but Council Member Pete Murdock asked questions about how opposition could defeat the measure. 

If property owners representing more than 50 percent of the expected cost of the assessment file objections, the project may not proceed without the affirmative vote of four-fifths of all of the council members. 

Such a district would allow the city to capture funds from Eastern Michigan University, which is the largest property holder and tax exempt.You can make your own more powerful gardenlightingss using LEDs. Within city limits, there are 4,951 parcels and close to 40 percent of the city's land total is property tax exempt, some of which is accounted for by EMU. 

There are 1,719 streetlights in the city and the estimated cost for electricity for fiscal year 2013-14 is $523,051. Within these costs are maintenance, operation and replacement fees. Electricity costs for the city have steadily increased since 2010, when the cost was $501,651. 

As a result of the Ketchum Community Development Corp.'s Walkable Ketchum Project—kicked off in early 2012—nine solar streetlights will be installed in Ketchum's downtown core. These are the first of 16 streetlights to be installed by the end of this year and funded by the city of Ketchum. 

"There have been significant community hours behind this project and it is very exciting to see it coming to fruition," said CDC Executive Director Jon Duval. "We hope that the signage and street lights will encourage more walking and exploring and contribute to the growing vitality of our downtown core." 

According to a press release from the CDC,generator prepositive design which wind drive the cleaningsydneyrs without gears. research has shown that additional downtown lighting increases walking at night, bringing more business and vitality to local shop owners and restaurants, as well as providing greater safety for pedestrians, especially during winter. The new LED solar lights require no power, will not disrupt sidewalks, and are dark-sky compliant. 

"We've been losing light as the power lines have been undergrounded and the streetlights were not replaced," said architect Dale Bates, the driving force behind Walkable Ketchum.Our bestsolarlantern can mark on metal and non metals. "Now with new solar technology, we can have light without running power, which is a huge cost savings passed on to the city and taxpayers." Click on their website www.aulaundry.com for more information.