Lanterns/Fixtures > News about Lanterns/Fixtures
Cobb County, GA, USA Streetlight Scandal
rjluna2:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Metro Section, page B2
Cobb streetlight audit recommends overhaul
By Janel Davis
Money collected from Cobb County residents to maintain streetlights will be kept separate from the county's general fund, county leaders decided Tuesday after received an internal audit that showed lax supervision of the streetlight program.
The change would become effective Friday at the start of the new fiscal year, said County Manager David Hankerson.
Maintaining a separate fund was on of 23 recommendations made by internal auditors, who found that the entire streetlight program needed an overhaul.
About 65 percent of unincorporated Cobb's residents pay for streetlights, including maintenance and electricity, for neighborhoods that choose to participate. Residents pay $9.50 per month for the first 23 months, then $3.50 monthly after that.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this month that the county had diverted about $5.89 million in surplus money from the program into the county's general fund for other purposes, despite county ordinance that dedicated the funds to the streetlight program only. The county collects about $4.3 million a year for its streetlight program, according to data obtained by the AJC through an Open Records Act request.
Despite the program's intent for maintaining a separate fund for the light program, the audit revealed money was diverted throughout the program's operation, Hankerson said.
"We thought it was important to go with what the intent was," he said.
Hankerson became aware of the situation last year when he ordered a review to investigate a drop in collections in fiscal 2008. When that drop was traced to an accounting change, he requested the audit.
Auditors also recommended improvements in overall administration, including a reliable database of streetlight districts (which is not up to date); better monitoring of energy costs and consistent payment to energy companies; establishment of written guidelines and a possible adjustment to the light fees and installation surcharges.
During the five-year audit period, from fiscal 2004 to June of fiscal 2009, the program had an average estimated yearly surplus of $404,758 and no adjustments in the policy governing fees.
The county will decide whether changes, such as reducing fees or refunding residents the surplus money, are warranted after the Transportation Department, which oversees the street light program, responds to the audit, Hankerson said.
Marietta resident Sandra Schick would like the county to cancel streetlight collections for the next year.
"I say don't pay anything further until they straighten things out," said Schick, 76, who paid light fees for seven years. "Because if they give you a refund, it's not going to amount to anything."
The county established its first streetlight district in 1978 with 14 subdivisions. About 3,7000 districts have been created, serving more than 106,000 households and businesses. Three-quarters of the residents in a neighborhood must sign a petition in order to join the program.
Staff writer Tim Eberly contributed to this article.
rjluna2:
East Cobb Neighbor, Thursday, October 7, 2010
Page 8A
Refunds to residents unlikely from county streetlight surplus
By Katy Ruth Camp
Marietta - Residents who pay into the county's streetlight district are unlikely to see a refund of overpayments anytime soon, Chairman Tim Lee said. And even if they do, the logistics of the refunds may cost taxpayers even more money.
Earlier, Lee had said he would consider giving refunds for the surplus money that was pent in other areas, but this week, he was more cautious.
"To give refunds for the last 30 years is going to be next to impossible because people move, subdivisions change, other things change, and honestly, it's just not going to be possible. But at this moment, we are not going to issue refunds until we see what impacts the results of the recommendations have on the fund," Lee said.
By January, officials will have set up a special account for streetlight revenue. County officials only recently realized that revenue that residents had been paying for streetlight maintenance was going into the general fund, and being used for projects in addition to streetlights. The fund was created in 1978 to install and maintain streetlights around the county. To opt-in, 75 percent of residents in a subdivision or neighborhood must agree to pay the $3.50 monthly fee, which is added to water bills. In areas where streetlights must be installed, participants pay $9.50 a month for up to three years, then $3.50 per month thereafter.
A county audit showed that since 2004, the program has been generating surpluses, sometimes upwards of $700,000 in a year. After hearing the results of the audit by audit manager Latona Thomas on Tuesday, Chairman Lee directed County Manager David Hankerson to set up a separate account for streetlight income and expenses.
Projections by Cobb Finance Director Jim Pehrson show a streetlight surplus of $315,000 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. But by 2012, Pehrson said, the fund could see a deficit of $13,000, and by 2015, that deficit could be much as $249,000 for the fund. That could result in higher fees for the program.
Commissioner Bob Ott agreed that even if the county attempted to pay residents back for surpluses, the administrative cost could be prohibitive.
"We have to determine that most feasible and economical way to handle this, whether it is a refund, or a possible adjustment of the rate. We have to make sure we're not going to spend more money trying to give people 50 cents each than the money it would take to do that," Ott said.
rjluna2:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thursday, October 28, 2010
Section B1
Cobb County
Separate fund set for streetlights program
Cobb County commissioners unanimously approved a separate revenue fund for the county?s streetlight program Tuesday night, calling it an important first step in addressing issues revealed in an audit of the program.
An internal audit presented last month found the program to have inadequate accounting policies, lax oversight and in need of an overhaul.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in September that the county had diverted about $5.89 million in surplus money from the program into the county?s general fund for other purposes, despite a county ordinance that dedicated the funds to the streetlight program only.
The county collects about $4.3 million a year for its streetlight program, according to data obtained by the AJC. Janel Davis
rjluna2:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Metro Section, page B4
County by county: Cobb
Commission may vote on streetlight mapping
County officials are continuing cleanup of the streetlight program by mapping its streetlight districts and streetlights. Commissioners may vote on the $42,372 project today.
The mapping system is one of several recommendations included in an internal audit of the county's streetlight program.
The audit found the program to have inadequate accounting policies, lax oversight and in need of an overhaul. Janel Davis.
rjluna2:
East Cobb Neighbor, Thursday, November 11, 2010
Page 4A
Cobb looking to map out its streetlights
By Katy Ruth Camp
Marietta
The board of Commissioners is expected to approve spending $41,372 fir a Geographic Information System map of the districts and each streetlight when it meets Tuesday morning.
Last month, the board created a special revenue account specifically for the fund, which means that revenue paid my member citizens can no longer be used for anything other than street light installation, maintenance and operations. That recommendation was among a list of 22 recommendations for changes to the program made by the county's internal audit division by Oct. 7.
Tuesday's item regards another of those recommendations, and Cobb Transportation Director Faye DiMassimo said a mapping system showing where each district and light is located will be the foundation for enacting other recommendations.
"We've got to have a good core data set to do everything else, so that we know where assets are and we can manage them efficiently," DiMassimo said. "This will be its own unique component of the county's current mapping system, and will help us significantly moving forward with the other recommendations."
The GIS street light district maps will be set up into two layers, said Lynn Biggs, GIS Supervisor for Cobb DOT. The first layer will show all 4,000 street light "district," or neighborhoods, in the county. The second layer will pinpoint the locations of 40,000 individual street lights.
The county intends to use contingency funds --- which are the leftover dollars when other projects come in under budget --- to pay for the mapping. And Biggs said $1,000 of the cost will go just for shipping all of the necessary documents to the winning bidder, R.A. Smith National in Brookfield, Wis.
"We had four bidders, and that was our low bid. The company will have to gather all of our street light district information, which is currently just on piece of paper, and put them into a map and the system. So that takes a little bit of effort, with 4,000 districts and 40,000 street lights," Biggs said.
Biggs estimated the project will take three months to complete. The county already has vast GIS, including those for roads, tax districts, and water mains and sewers, she said.
"This is a great management tool, and we will be able to visualize where they are and get them inventoried. Eventually, we could look at other details and use them for other purposes, such as tracking which street lights are not working," Biggs said.
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