County commission weighs moratorium on streetlights

ALBANY, Ga. — Amid fierce budget constraints, the Dougherty County Commission’s public safety committee has recommended putting a moratorium on a popular street light program.

If approved by the full commission, the move would save the county roughly $35,000 per year in operating costs, County Administrator Richard Crowdis said.

Since it was first suggested by Commissioner John Hayes in 2007, the street light program has helped erect 231 street lights throughout the unincorporated portions of Dougherty County.

It’s something Hayes still feels strongly about, he says, and is as much of a public safety issue as it is one of convenience.

“I just hope that this indeed a moratorium rather than a complete cessation of the program,” Hayes said. “I think there has just been too much of a benefit to people throughout the county for this program.”

The county has been working to whittle away at its spending since the recession really took hold three years ago.

Since that time, the county has operated at a deficit budget and has had to rely on its reserves to prop it up. But with reserves now dwindling and the places to cut without having a major impact on county residents drying up, Crowdis and the commission are having to take a hard look at their books.

Funding of the streetlights themselves aren’t the issue. A certain amount has been set aside each year through the highly-successful special sales tax programs to fund the purchase of the lights.

It’s the cost to operate and maintain them that is costing the county money. According to documents provided to commissioners Monday, the annual cost per light per year at intersections is $186 and for residential lights is $145.

The total cost for both annually is $35,486.