Oct 27, 2009 6:03 pm US/Central
Merrillville May Turn Off Some Street Lights
Town Can't Pay Its $16,000 Monthly Light Bill
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (CBS) ―
It won't leave folks completely in the dark, but is it really a bright idea? The town of Merrillville, Ind., is thinking of turning out every other street light to battle a mounting electric bill it just can't pay.
Many families do it in their own homes: turn out the lights to save money on electricity.
Merrillville officials have been considering whether the town really needs all of its street lights on at the same time or whether half could do the job. It was the brainchild of Merrillville Treasurer Eugene Guernsey
For streetlights alone, in these cash-strapped times the town owes the electric company $400,000.
So what does Guernsey do when the town's electric bill comes due? "I'm not paying it; just don't pay it," he said.
Guernsey flipped the switch on the proposal to turn off every other street light in town to make the bill more manageable.
"Our monthly bill is around $16,000 for streetlights and our budget doesn't generate that much," Guernsey said.
All lights would stay on at curving sections of roadway and subdivisions, but at other locations --- especially along the suburban strip -- alternating lights would go dark.
Some might argue less light would mean more crime in Merrillville. Guernsey said that's not necessarily true.
"You could say that, but again, there's some people live in town, doesn't have a streetlight already and they'll say 'You know, it's dark here, we don't have any crime,'" Guernsey said.
Businessman Frank Camarata said he remembers his parents' warnings about the lights in the house: "turn the lights off."
He said he has a similar view about Merrillville's plans for the road outside his pierogi shop.
He said the street lights outside his shop don't mean much to him, "because most businesses here operate during the day. After 6 or 7 (p.m.) you just have traffic on the road."
A light post stands right outside Herb Tolman's home; he said that he thinks the proposal is anything but dim.
"One of the guys next door works for the town of Merrillville and he likes to get paid too, so if it puts money in his table I am happy," Tolman said.
Town officials pointed out many businesses and parking lots in Merrillville have their own lights, which would help keep roads and sidewalks lit. They were working to figure out exactly how much money could be saved under the plan, since it would not be exactly half the number of street lights in use.
A vote was set for the Merrillville Town Council meeting Tuesday night.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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