The amount of revenue collected in the first year of Duluth's street light fee is smaller than anticipated, according to John Grandson, manager of maintenance operations. The shortfall is to the tune of $100,000.

Last fall, the city council approved a $3.50 monthly fee on residents' gas and water bills to bring in extra revenue and help maintain the city's street lights.

Grandson says a mistake was made in how the ordinance was interpreted. Multi-dwelling housing had been factored as one unit, so for example, only one street light fee was assessed for a duplex unit.

To make-up the loss of revenue the city is holding back on capital improvement projects, such as repairing or replacing street lights.

I was surprised to learn just how expensive it is to repair the fancy downtown street lights. Each one costs $20,000. Grandson says the city spends a lot of money either replacing or repairing them because about a dozen get knocked down every from vehicle collisions each year. Yes, a dozen. Sometimes insurance companies foot the bill, but about half the time the city pays for it.

The billing mix-up should be figured out in the next 2-3 weeks, when revenue should be back on track, according to Grandson.