HE LIGHTS UP HIS LIFE NORTH HILLS MAN PUTS UP OWN ILLUMINATION.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

With calls growing for the city to bear the cost of installing streetlights, City Council President Alex Padilla said Thursday that alternatives should be explored to the current policy that requires residents to pay $1,600 per home for new street lights.

Residents of several darkened neighborhoods have joined a chorus urging a change in city policy, saying Los Angeles could provide street lights out of the general fund just as it pays for police and fire protection and a variety of services.

Most complaints are focused on the lack of lights as a public safety issue affecting everyone. North Hills resident Jon Ailetcher, for instance, installed four floodlights in front of his home to discourage prostitutes and drug dealers from congregating after dark.

Padilla, whose Northeast Valley district includes many neighborhoods where residents unable to afford the installation fee have been clamoring for street lights, cautioned that any policy change would have to ensure that new street lights do not come at the expense of police, fire protection and other basic services.

``I'm open to that, but meeting the needs of the entire city is sometimes a balancing act,'' said Padilla, who became acting mayor Thursday with Mayor James Hahn on vacation in Hawaii.

``I'd love for the city to be in a position where our general fund has enough revenue to pay for that kind of (street-light installation) effort.''

The city has an overall budget of $4.8 billion with a general fund of $3.3 billion, including $64 million in reserves for the 2002-03 fiscal year. City officials said the budget is tight and does not provide for increases in many city services.

The street-light issue erupted into controversy last week when city officials announced they were starting a five-year, $8 million effort to replace all 1,000 functioning street lights along the 17-mile Ventura Boulevard corridor with new, identical lights.

Los Angeles currently charges homeowners $53 a year for street-light electricity and maintenance - the type of funding that will pay for the Ventura Boulevard lights - in addition to the $1,600 per home as an installation fee for each new street light.

A Daily News survey has found that Los Angeles is the only one of the 10 largest U.S. cities that charges special assessments rather than paying for street lights out of the general fund. Most of Los Angeles' general fund comes from property and sales taxes, fees for licenses and permits, and taxes on utilities.

Some Valley residents said the city has neglected its responsibility to provide street lights and should change its funding model.

``I don't think it's fair to have special assessments for something the city should be providing,'' said Robert Evans, who said his North Hollywood neighborhood is poorly lit. ``(City officials) should quit lining their pockets in other areas.''

Ailetcher, the Mission Hills man who installed floodlights to discourage crime, said he believes street lights should be a routine city responsibility - but not if it means cutting police or road improvements.

``If there's money available, they should be putting it where it's needed,'' Ailetcher said.

Another Mission Hills resident, Martha Guiza, said the city should find enough money in its general fund to pay for street lights as well as other basic services, such as road repaving, that she said are lacking in her neighborhood.

``(Special assessments) are just another way of raising our taxes,'' she said. ``We're just paying and paying and not getting any services.''

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said the street-light issue is a ``hypothetical question,'' and declined to comment on whether shifting street lights to the general fund would necessitate cuts elsewhere.

He said city officials are working to meet needs in all neighborhoods, from playgrounds to police officers.

Middlebrook and Padilla said the street-light issue could be addressed by the city's budding network of neighborhood councils, which is designed to relay community opinions to city leaders.

Padilla, noting that his own house on Judd Street in Pacoima has no street lights nearby, said he's sure many residents will voice their opinions to the members of neighborhood councils.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Jon Ailetcher, in front of his home on Aqueduct Avenue in North Hills, has put up his own floodlights to curb crime in the area.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer