WASHINGTON - D.C. lawmakers are now discussing the possibility of charging residents for the use of street lights. Now, when the sun goes down and streetlights turn on, residents' home electric bills could go up every single month to pay for those lights.

City leaders say to cover the $13 million it costs to operate and maintain the District's street lights, the mayor is proposing a monthly "street light user" fee that would be tacked onto residents' monthly PEPCO electric bills.

The fee would be $4.25 a month for residents, $16.75 a month for businesses and $42 a month for everyone else. For residents, the added cost would total up to $51 per year.

As it stands now, everyone would pay the same no matter home size or income level, though some relief for low- or fixed-income residents might be provided by the city's Energy Assistance Office.

"That doesn't seem to make any sense to me at all," said Dennis Edwards, a D.C. resident. "Why should I have to be pay for the street lights?"

"I think a more fair proposition would be to assess it based on the value of your home," added another D.C. resident.

His neighbor, Carrie Rossbach, says she could cover the fee added to her home's average electric bill which averages $40 to $50 a month, but worries about others.

"I can only speculate that would be challenging for people especially if they lost jobs or if they don't have jobs," Rossbach said.

But resident Patrick Frey sees the issue differently. "We all use them, we all benefit from them for crime reduction, seeing where you're going."

And Sasha Desdune, another District resident, agrees that sharing the benefit can mean sharing the cost. "As far as street lights go -- we're out, we share the same streets, so it shouldn't matter -- so if there's going to be a fee it should be across the board."

Still, some residents think that streetlights are a service that their taxes should cover. "I feel that D.C. taxpayers pay enough and for them to pay even more for something that should be included in their services, I think it's ludacrious," argued resident Tami DeVitis.

Councilmember Jim Graham is in charge of transportation committee and will soon decide whether or not to approve the mayor's proposed "street light user" fee. "Lower income people will be harder hit and that is always of concern to me," Graham said.

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