In just a few weeks, streetlights in some St. Tammany neighborhoods will officially be out.
“They went to the polls in May, 24 percent of them, and they voted it down,” Councilman Larry Rolling said. “I do think they were caught up in the no vote of all of those amendments.”
During the May election, voters struck down a tax measure to fund three lighting districts.
One in Covington (District 16), and two in Slidell (Districts 4 and 9).
According to parish leaders, it would have cost each resident somewhere around $20 a year to keep the lights on.
That would have brought in $42,000 annually to keep the lights on for the next 10 years in Covington, according to parish leaders.
Rolling told WDSU funding is now running low, and with only $10,000 left for his lighting district in Covington, the lights in those neighborhoods will be out by the end of the month.
“My biggest neighborhood is Crestwood Estates, has around 400 homes in there. They have about 80 poles, so those lights will be going off,” Rolling said.
“Without these lights on, you come in the neighborhood, and it’s pitch black, so we need the lights,” Bob Marquette said.
Marquette lives in a surrounding neighborhood outside of Crestwood Estates in Covington and told WDSU safety is a big concern for him, adding neighbors he knows want to keep the lights on.
“My main concern is if people were allowed to vote who were not in the lighting district,” Marquette said.
WDSU took Marquette’s concern to Rolling, and he said only those in the lighting district voted on the measure.
Adding the only way to get the lights back on is for people to vote “yes” the next time it’s back on the ballot.
“Hopefully when this goes back on the ballot, we will do that this spring, and we will see what they do,” Rolling said. “They might vote “no” again, or they might vote “yes” and get them back turned on.”
According to parish leaders, Lighting District No. 4, which serves a significant portion of western Slidell, saw its proposition defeated by a vote of 74% to 26%, with voter turnout of 23%. The proposition would have generated approximately $466,000 annually for 10 years to provide and maintain utility poles and street lighting on Parish streets, roads, highways, alleys, and other public places. Approximately $351,000 remains in the district’s account, which is expected to fund operations through March 2027.
Lighting District No. 9, which serves the area generally southeast of I-10 near South Military Road in the Slidell area, saw its proposition defeated by a vote of 68% to 32%, with voter turnout of 29%. The proposition would have levied a $50 per-lot assessment for 10 years, generating approximately $123,300 annually to fund public streetlights. Approximately $72,000 remains in the district’s account, which is expected to fund operations through January 2027.
The Parish Council is considering placing these propositions back on the ballot in either December 2026 or April 2027. Because these taxes are collected through annual property tax bills, funding would not be received until the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028, regardless of which election date is selected. As a result, if approved by voters, streetlight service could resume as early as February 2028.
READ MORE:Streetlights in St. Tammany neighborhoods are getting cut off
