Colorado Springs approves $5.6 million street-lighting charge for 2027
The annual charge is about 3% above 2026. Utilities staff said it will not clear the repair backlog and projected days of cash on hand will turn negative.
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Colorado Springs City Council approved a $5.61 million charge for the city’s street-lighting service in 2027. The measure passed 9–0 on Nov. 10, according to the Council resolution.
The amount is $163,254, or about 3%, above the 2026 requirement. Under city code, Utilities bills the city’s Municipal Government monthly for the Council-approved annual amount. The charge can cover operating and maintenance costs, including electricity, and capital costs for arterial and residential streetlights not otherwise recovered through another city code provision.
Utilities’ 2027 cost worksheet includes $1.16 million for operations and maintenance and $1.08 million for cash-funded capital. Other costs include administration, debt service, electric-system allocations and fuel.
The requirement applies to the City Code-based Municipal Government street-lighting service, not Utilities’ separate Electric Contract Service–Street Light tariff.
During the Nov. 10 Council discussion, Utilities staff said a backlog of lights needing repair or replacement cannot be cleared within the current budget. Staff also said the service’s cash position is being drawn down and projected days of cash on hand would turn negative.
Utilities staff said future increases would be needed to rebuild cash, starting in 2028. City and Utilities officials said they had begun discussing how to fund the service and set a workable service level, with talks to continue through 2027. They announced no future funding plan or change to lighting service at the meeting.