Los Angeles is dealing with a worsening street lighting system, with many lights out or taking months to repair. A major driver is copper wire theft, which has significantly increased repair workload and created long backlogs for the Bureau of Street Lighting.
To fix the issue, the Los Angeles City Council has moved forward with a proposal to increase the streetlight assessment fee paid by property owners, Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The study that showed a major funding gap
As reported by LAist, a city-commissioned study conducted in 2025 found that the Bureau is operating at about 45% of the funding needed to properly maintain the system. The bureau currently collects roughly $45 million per year from assessments, while it would need about $112 million annually to meet demand.
The reason for this is that the current fee structure has not been updated since 1996 due to voter-approval requirements under California law. To close that gap, the study estimates that fees would need to increase by about 120% on average.
The proposal would affect approximately 584,000 properties across the city and would fund repairs, infrastructure replacement, and staffing increases.
How the vote works and who decides
L.A. City Council has given city staff the green light to prepare and send out ballots to property owners. The city sent out ballots around April 17, and property owners will vote by mail on whether to approve the proposed increase in the streetlight fee.
Votes will be weighted based on the amount each property pays in annual assessments: the more a property contributes, the more influence its vote carries. Ballots received before June 2 will be counted by the L.A. City Clerk, who will determine the final result based on the weighted voting system.
