The city of Los Angele is grappling with streetlight repairs, which take months on average. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Aug. 12 to approve $500,000 in overtime funding to expedite street light repairs across Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez’s 13th District.

Repairing a broken streetlight takes more than nine months on average in Los Angeles. The significant delay is due to three primary factors. The fee that funds 90% of streetlight maintenance hasn’t been adjusted for inflation for decades, leaving the department severely underfunded. The Bureau of Street Lighting had a city-high 32% vacancy rate until recent years when job vacancies were eliminated entirely. Copper wire theft has increased to record levels in recent years. However, 60% of broken streetlights are out due to routine maintenance.

The supplemental overtime funding will allow the Bureau of Street Lighting to deploy more personnel to repair broken streetlights faster, reinforce streetlights to prevent future theft and address a backlog that has left entire neighborhoods in the dark. With the $500,000 allocation approved, Soto-Martinez expects significant progress in repairing streetlights to occur as nights get longer during fall and winter.

“We’re using discretionary funds to fill in the gaps, but these are basic city services that we need to improve across the city,” Soto-Martínez said. “It shouldn’t take nine months to fix a broken streetlight, and all of our residents deserve safe, well-lit streets.”

The $500,000 in funding comes from AB 1290 Fund No. 53P (CD 13 Redevelopment Projects-Services). In addition to the overtime funding, Soto-Martínez emphasized the need for long-term strategies to fix Los Angeles’ streetlighting system. He called for sustainable funding models with inflation-adjusted fees or alternative funding sources to ensure the Bureau of Street Lighting is adequately resourced; staffing solutions that prioritize critical city services such as street lighting in the city budget; and expanding preventive measures to make streetlights less susceptible to theft by replacing copper wiring with solar-powered lights or theft-resistant alternatives.

For information, visit cd13.lacity.gov.