Should DC Residents Pay A Fee For Street Lights?

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- If DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has his way, residents will end up paying a monthly fee to maintain city street lamps. The proposed "street light user fee" would go toward maintaining and fixing the lights that line city sidewalks.

If passed by the DC City Council, residents would be charged an extra $4.25 every month on their Pepco bill. Businesses would be required to pay $16.75 a month.

Reaction on the street ranged from "we're already paying out of our taxpayer dollars. Why should we have to pay for lights on the street?" to "it may not be a lot for people who are a lot more wealthy but coming from a student's perspective, it's a lot of money." But others said they were willing to pay. One man said, "everybody's talking about sacrificing right now. Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the city."

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty says each year, it costs 13 million dollars to fix and maintain city street lights. And keep in mind, "our budget, our proposed budget at least is 3.9 percent less so in making sure that you spend less taxpayer dollars, you look at different ways you can make it up from elsewhere."

Councilman Jim Graham says so far, reaction from constituents have been mostly negative. He says the Mayor's intention is good as the city grapples with serious budget problems, but he does not believe the bill will pass unless it's modified. He says, "the fact of the matter is, street lights are seen as a very basic government deliverable, if you will."

Graham supports increasing the taxes of the city's wealthiest residents, because he believes the monthly fee could pose a hardship to some residents. The Mayor points out his proposal does have a hardship exemption meaning if your income is below a certain level, you will not have to pay the monthly fee.