Streets: Lighting Assessment Hits Home

Newly elected South Pasadena Mayor Paul Zee stated in his mini inaugural address that the city should be “run like a business, trying to please customers [residents] and keep them happy.”

The customer is always right, says the old adage, but in my 15 years attending City Council meetings, the customer is seldom right. The City Council and staff are the righteous ones and the customers are sent packing.

Everyone in town recently received a notice from the city regarding a proposed adjustment in their street-lighting assessment. Of course, the adjustment went up. Some received a minor increase. Others received a 16.7% increase. And residents on some streets that don’t even have lighting had their assessments increased by 22.5%.

All households that were blessed with a 16.7% or 22.5% increase in their income last year should be overjoyed to pass their windfall on to the city. Families that received less should be mad as hell and head for Customer Service (council chambers) demanding to know who is responsible for such convoluted logic. ROBERT COOK South Pasadena