The annual program budget supports the four core functions of the Bureau of Street Lighting.
- Design & Construction: $17.9M Funds the design and construction for new lighting, replacing older lighting, and supports lighting designs for other agencies and departments to meet nationally accepted standards.
- System Operations, Maintenance, and Restoration: $12.2M Safeguard operations, maintenance, and repair of the infrastructure and responds to physical failures, damages, and vandalism incidents.
- Street Lighting Assessment: $1M Supports coordination for all street lighting assessment activities for over 500K parcels.
- General Administration & Support: $2.9M Provides all Bureau administrative support, such as budget, personnel, finance, and accounting services.
Established in the Spring of 2021, the Performance Management Unit is charged with Bureau wide support of executive management objectives through a variety of tasks including strategic planning; initiative development; data organization and analysis; and the production of communications content.
The Administration Division provides executive, technical, and administrative support for the Bureau of Street Lighting. The team is responsible for budget preparation, finance, accounting duties, and coordinates all personnel administration support.
The Bureau of Street Lighting is 100% special funded. Street Lighting is financed primarily from the Street Lighting Maintenance Assessment Fund (Street Lighting Assessment Districts), which generates $42 million annually. This fund covers all costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the City’s street lighting system, energy cost, material, labor, and fleet. The Bureau’s assessments fund is collected through property taxes and may only be used for the operation and maintenance of the City’s street lighting system. It is illegal to use this fund to install new streetlights. If property owners/neighborhood want to install streetlights, they will need to provide a petition to the City to show a majority community support and be in compliance with Proposition 218. The City’s Street Lighting Assessment Districts consist of over 550,000 parcels that require processing and updating annually.
Proposition 218: In November 1996, California voters passed Proposition 218, the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act.” Proposition 218 requires voter approval before imposition or increase of general taxes, assessments, and specific user fees.