Emergency manager Mike Brown talks to media about Flint's street light assessment.
/ NBC25
Street lights have been the talk of the town in Flint for the past two weeks.
The city of Flint pays $2.8 million a year out of its general fund for the lights. The emergency manager Mike Brown announced Thursday that Flint resident's tax bill will increase in order to lesson that burden.
It was proposed at a public street light hearing two weeks ago, to add $74 to the July bill. However, after nearly 400 people cried out about inoperable street lights and others that can't afford the jump in taxes, the increase was dropped eight dollars.
This is a revenue enhancement that Mike Brown said is necessary.
"We had a really difficult challenge to keep our public safety force in place and not layoff people and so we had to choose some of these options available on the revenue side, this was one of those options," Brown said.
Mike Brown added, they located about 1,200 lights that are inoperable. The city will be reimbursed for those lights.
For residents that have vacant side lots, your parcels will get combined for free, however that is after you pay the increase. The city assessor's office will take care of that concern.
There is also a Community Development Block Grant in place for people that can't afford the $66 tax increase.
