More crews proposed to speed streetlight repair times, limit backlog

Published on August 25, 2022

What it does? The budget proposal will allow the City to increase the number of work crews devoted to repairing streetlights, as well as pay for additional contract services and equipment.

What’s the benefit to taxpayers? Quickly repair streetlights to make city streets safer.

What’s the budget proposal? $3.08 million.

What’s next? The mayor and council are considering this request as part of the FY23 budget. The council votes on the budget in September. The City’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

City staff is recommending the council make city streets safer by approving doubling the money spent on streetlight repairs in the upcoming operating budget.

The City expects to spend $2.78 million this fiscal year to replace bulbs and do other minor electrical work. Because of a growing backlog, staff is asking the council to add $3.08 million and spend $5.86 million in the FY23 budget for repairs.

About 10,000 reports of streetlight outages are made annually, but only about 8,000 can be addressed. (Did you know: streetlight outages are the No. 5 most popular request to the City’s call center at 817-392-1234.)

The new money would bump from nine to 12 the number of in-house repair crews. It would also allow the City to spend $1 million of the increase to hire more companies to make repairs.

The added help eventually will reduce from 60 days to 30 days when repairs are made. The City is responsible for just under 65,000 streetlights, of which 58,468 are on city streets.

Earlier this year, voters approved a $12 million bond proposal for streetlight replacements, including some Fort Worth is responsible for on the interstates. The council is also considering spending $12 million in pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act money on streetlight replacements.

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