Time To Turn Out the Lights?

Pre currency crisis, public services and benefits continue to be cut. Peering into the future, survival of the fittest is the forecast.

Indiana Cities Pull Plug On Streetlamps to Save Money

Budget cuts and property tax caps are leaving many residents across Indiana in the dark.

Merrillville has turned off every other streetlight on its main roads. Valparaiso is turning off every other light in some areas and has set others to turn off at midnight. Muncie officials say the city will shut off 85 percent of overhead lights to help balance the 2010 budget.

The moves are a response to rising costs and shrinking revenue that's the result of the ailing economy and property tax caps.

Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley says the move could result in more than just darker streets.

"I'm setting you on notice," she told the council. "The decisions you have made, unless you reconsider the budget, are going to be detrimental to the city."

But officials in several cities say the changes are necessary. Merrillville Public Works Director Bruce Spires said the city is more than a year behind on its NIPSCO bills.

The city will turn off 300 streetlights, for a savings of about $2,000 a month.

"The town has been very aggressive in putting up streetlights for the past 15 years, especially when we can get federal funding for them," Spires said. "They were either done as part of a road project or as a safety issue where we got 100 percent funding. These roads are well lit. A couple of them you could land an airplane on."

Merrillville's decision won't affect subdivisions, curves or intersections.

Valparaiso officials say they aren't sure how much electricity the city is using because it pays a flat rate per light each month, regardless of whether the light is working.

The city has shut off some lights and will meter others to determine their usage. Project and Facility Management Director Don McGinley said the city also is considering putting some lights that already are on photo cells on timers so the lights don't turn on simply if it's extremely cloudy or during a storm.

Valparaiso also has installed low-energy LED bulbs in city streetlights and has lowered pole heights to bring lights closer to sidewalks.

Valparaiso isn't sure how much it will save in electricity costs. Spires said Merrillville will review its bill in the coming weeks to see if any changes are needed.

"You really don't miss that they are gone," Spires said. "There's still plenty of light out there."

The Muncie City Council announced in early November that it had cut its $630,000 streetlight budget in half to help reduce a $1.5 million spending shortfall for next year.

But the city said this week it would have to shut off more lights than expected because the budget line item for electricity also includes traffic signals and power for city hall.

The city hall electric bill runs about $64,000, and traffic signals cost about $91,000 to operate each year. That leaves just $160,000 for overhead street lights next year, said Superintendent of Public Works Pete Heuer.

The cuts mean only 603 of Muncie's 4,107 street lights would remain in service after Dec. 31.

The city is meeting with Indiana Michigan power to discuss how to turn the lights off. "This task will no doubt be an engineering puzzle due to the fact that several lights may run off a single meter," Heuer said. The lights will be turned off Dec. 31.

Mayor Sharon McShurley told the city council that the power company had threatened to sue the city for breach of contract. Indiana Michigan &M spokesman Mike Brian denied that claim.

"There's been no threat as far as we know of any legal action," he said.