State Rep. Maureen Stapleton, who represents Detroit, introduced the bill last week. It would provide $160 million in bonds, overseen by a new lighting authority, to repair city streetlights with broken bulbs or other problems, according to the newspaper.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has proposed decommissioning about half of the city's 88,000 streetlights, according to the Free Press, in conjunction with the legislation. That plan would save about $10 million in maintenance costs, city officials have estimated. Most of the remainder would be fixed through the funding proposed by Stapleton's bill.
Other cities are watching the legislation's progress closely. The Free Press expects that more Michigan localities (such as Wyandotte, Clinton Township, Ann Arbor and Lansing) would pursue similiar legislation if the Detroit bill is successful.
