Since 1978, the City of Southfield has historically charged property owners that benefit from streetlights an assessment on their water bill. This was instituted with Chapter 23 of the City Ordinance, in Sections 2.301 – 2.307, and was last amended in March 1985.

The City is currently in the process of amending the way special assessments for streetlights are charged to property owners. This process will begin with an amendment to the City’s ordinance changing the current special assessment collection from the summer tax bill to the winter tax bill. The City will then seek to implement a special assessment district in the appropriate manner, that is fair and equitable to all affected property owners. Streetlights would move from charges on homeowner’s utility bills to a special assessment on property tax bills. The City currently has approximately 1,128 DTE-owned streetlight poles, with roughly 1,494 total streetlights for which DTE Energy charges service fees.

Beginning in the Summer of 2022, the City of Southfield Administration and the Assessing Department will begin to develop Special Assessment Districts for the cost and expenses incurred for streetlighting, including: operating expenses, maintenance, improvements, and upgrades as necessary. Since the City has already charged property owners for streetlights since1978, this change will be minimal to most property owners. This amendment will simply correct the way the charge is billed through a special assessment. The City of Southfield currently has about 22,730 residential classified parcels and 1,572 commercial/industrial classified parcels, of which 13,615 residential parcels that will be charged an amount ranging between $0.35 and $105 annually, or $0.03 to $8.75 per month. The average amount that a residential property would pay annually is about $16.39, or $1.36 per month. There are approximately 475 commercial/industrial property owners in the City that will be charged an amount ranging between $210.96 and $9,230 annually.

The Assessing Department will be notifying all property owners that are affected by this change prior to the hearing of necessity with the estimated annual cost and maps identifying the streetlight locations within each district. These plans will also be on file with the City Clerk’s Office for public review. If a property owner disagrees with the special assessment that will be levied upon their property, they have appeal rights with the Michigan Tax Tribunal. In order for a property owner to retain appeal rights with the Tribunal, they must attend the hearings and verbally object to the special assessment or file an objection to the special assessment district with the City Clerk. The appeal must then be filed with the Michigan Tax Tribunal within 35 days from the final date of confirmation of the special assessment district. Information regarding this change will also be made available on the City of Southfield’s website at www.cityofsouthfield.com and the Assessing Department’s webpage, as updates become available in the summer.

Questions regarding the upcoming process for implementation of the Streetlight Special Assessment District should be directed to the Assessing Department at (248) 796-5230. Questions regarding the current amount assessed for streetlights can be directed to the Water & Sewer Division of the Department of Public Works at (248) 796-4850.