CITY OBJECTS TO FEE HIKE HIGHER STREET LIGHT ASSESSMENT AT ISSUE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale plans to vote no on Los Angeles County's proposal to raise the fee charged for street lights, the mayor said Monday.

As a property owner in the county-run street light district, the city gets to cast ballots just like homeowners do on the fee hike proposal, which would raise the annual assessment from $50 to $77 per single-family home.

Palmdale, which has received ballots for nine city-owned properties in the lighting district, would have to pay an extra $1,463 a year.

One question that has not been answered is what level of service would be maintained if the increase fails and rates remain at current levels, Mayor Jim Ledford said.

``We haven't seen any alternatives. Are we looking at every other light or every third light being turned off?'' Ledford said.

Citing rising energy costs, Los Angeles County Public Works officials have mailed ballots asking property owners to approve an increase in the annual street light assessment.

While home rates would go from $50 to $77, rates for larger commercial users, such as supermarkets and mobile-home parks, would climb from $400 to $616 a year.

The ballot measure includes a provision to automatically increase the rate based on Public Utility Commission-approved increases for Southern California Edison street lighting charges.

``An open-ended assessment is a dangerous option to approve,'' Ledford said.

Ledford said he believes the city's position on the rate hike mirrors how the vast majority of Palmdale residents feel.

``I think our residents have already voted no,'' Ledford said.

While the provision for automatic rate increases is in the ballot language, county public works would not necessarily just automatically pass along rate hikes, said John Walker, assistant deputy director of the traffic and lighting division.

``Our position is that if a large increase comes along that threatens the financial stability of the district, we will go back to the property owners for another balloting,'' Walker said.

In determining the assessment rate, the county looked at what money would be needed to maintain the existing level of service and to accommodate growth over a three- to five-year period, county officials said.

If the rate increase is defeated, county public works would consult with the city and residents on possible options on handling the cost increases, he said.

Under Proposition 218, approved by California voters in 1996, assessment rate hikes must be approved by property owners. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, which handles street lighting for the city of Palmdale, sent out about 34,000 mail-in ballots.

The rate hike would be approved by a simple majority of the ballots cast. Ballots will be tallied June 26.

The proposed rate hike for the 2001-02 assessment in the city of Palmdale will raise an additional $773,000.

Lancaster oversees its own street light maintenance district. That city is planning to shoulder the anticipated energy cost increases and will keep assessments at $45 a year.

Lancaster plans to cover the anticipated $300,000 costs in additional energy costs by cutting street maintenance funds, city officials said.

After hundreds of people showed up at a May 14 meeting in Palmdale, Supervisor Mike Antonovich asked for another meeting. The second meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 21 in the auditorium at Highland High School, 39055 25th St. W., Palmdale.

A public hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 26 in downtown Los Angeles before the board of supervisors. Mailed ballots will be counted after the June 26 hearing.

Property owners who never received a ballot or who misplaced or threw out their ballot can ask for a replacement by calling the county Public Works Department at [phone].