WAPA charging fo street lights?

Did I hear correctly that ... an amendment was passed to allow WAPA to start charging us for street lights?

I believe you may have "heard" incorrectly. I can find nothing to support it.

http://viconsortium.com/politics/wapa-given-authority-bill-customers-street-lights/

So WAPA customers will pay for street lights, while those that have gone off grid get the safety benefits for free.

Thank you for the link. Since WAPA has been switching to much less costly/energy consuming street lights, the additional cost to consumers will hopefully be minimal and will have little real impact on the average bill once the lower rates come into play in 2015.

I'll bet the cost will not only be the electrical cost, but the hardware cost and manpower costs.

Your new lower rate is not going to be as low as promised now that the street light expenses will reduce that savings.

I thought street lighting was supposed to be paid for using some of the funds from our property tax.

4% pays for lighting. A proposed 2% increase was deemed insufficient to cover the costs.

This is interesting reading.

Apparently Act 6755 prohibits WAPA from billing customers for street light services.

http://www.legvi.org/CommitteeMeetings/COMMITTEE%20ON%20FINANCE/2014%20Committee%20Meetings/03.04.2014%20Finance%20Cmte.%20Meeting-STT/Bill%20No.%2030-0196/Testimony%20-%20WAPA.%20Hugo%20Hodge%20Jr.%2030-0196.pdf

One of many related articles - this one from 2001:

http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2001/12/06/wapa-still-dark-street-light-funding

Deja vu.

See: http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2014/10/01/senate-cuts-governors-budget-restricts-all-executive-spending
The above article is a great example of the pot (Senators) calling the kettle black!
They both need to go as ongoing continued spending on "pet projects" is totally out of control. Maybe a CFO is needed for both branches. Someone like Stephan Van Beverhoudt of OIG.

"Graham sponsored a series of revenue generating amendments. One generated some opposition: to allow the V.I. Water and Power Authority to bill customers for streetlights when it reduces the fuel surcharge, and to restore the portion of property taxes currently devoted to streetlights to the V.I. treasury.

“If this amendment is approved, then the WAPA bills will drastically increase. This bill needs be taken off the agenda and placed in committee for further consideration,” Rivera-O’Reilly said.

Graham said street lighting needs to be improved and giving WAPA more authority in this area would help.

“There are some parts of the island that are too dark because the street lights are not working,” Graham said, adding that the amendment would make roads safer and help balance the budget.

Post Auditor Jose George said the measure should free up about $2 million per year."

Mind you, We now have a $558.1 million budget bill.
[Main Budget Bill] http://stcroixsource.com/files/userfiles/file/02014%20September/30-0463.pdf

Wasn't the pay for street lights in our gasoline tax we all pay at the pump? So what is the deal, every bill will now have a street light tax? So, where did the gasoline tax go or rather to whom?

Nope.

The law raises the gasoline tax, eliminates the Customs duty on imported gasoline that is consumed locally and sets up a fund so that the revenues from the tax can be used to purchase new generators for the V.I. Water and Power Authority and to help with the issuance of bonds for WAPA.

I would think by now technology has advanced whereby solar powered street lights could be installed coupled with low power using LED bulbs where electricity would not have to be used at all.

Of course they can be. Where is the money going to come from to pay for them?

I would really like to know how much revenue from the tax has been used to purchase new generators for the V.I. Water and Power Authority.

Since the tax was imposed over 2 years ago, I would really like to know how much $ has been put into the fund, and how much used.

Here is the article from the DN: Daily News article 7c tax

I would really like to know how much revenue from the tax has been used to purchase new generators for the V.I. Water and Power Authority.

Since the tax was imposed over 2 years ago, I would really like to know how much $ has been put into the fund, and how much used.

Here is the article from the DN: Daily News article 7c tax

You would like those to be true numbers, right?

Would be nice to get true numbers, but I've been here long enough to know that won't happen. Just saying it would be nice....

Don't hold your breath!
You can bet that if there is any money laying around unused, they will find a way to reroute it for another use or a pet project.

You know I'm not! haha

I would really like to know how much revenue from the tax has been used to purchase new generators for the V.I. Water and Power Authority.

Since the tax was imposed over 2 years ago, I would really like to know how much $ has been put into the fund, and how much used.

Here is the article from the DN: Daily News article 7c tax

No new generators have been purchased since the implementation of the tax.

Don't forget that most streetlights knocked out on the islands is from people shooting them.

Don't forget that most streetlights knocked out on the islands is from people shooting them.

It seems you have a compendium of nonsense that you dig into periodically just to cause melee.

Don't forget that most streetlights knocked out on the islands is from people shooting them.

It seems you have a compendium of nonsense that you dig into periodically just to cause melee.

If it is to support change in the USVI, then yes, I dig.

Too bad, I am right. :/

Well, it seem our Government wishes to SQEEEZE every last penny out of us so they can continue to mismanage, misspend, misappropriate, misuse, waste, sqaunder and steal.
Anyone else getting tired of it yet?