Jamestown considers new monthly fee for street lights and signals

Jamestown utility customers in Stutsman County could soon see a new monthly charge for street lights and traffic signals, with committee materials showing a $4 fee for a wooden pole, $6 for a decorated pole and $8 for taller metal poles on commercial properties. The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee sent the proposal to the City Council on June 23 without recommendation, putting it on the July 6 agenda.

City officials say the fee would create a dedicated revenue stream for lights and signals instead of relying so heavily on the general fund. A flat $6 monthly charge for all residences and commercial property owners on city utility bills could generate about $300,000 a year, while Sarah Hellekson said the city now pays Otter Tail Power Co. under a franchise agreement for electricity and pole costs and covers more than $120,000 in annual pole expenses from the general fund.

The committee packet also called for creating a Light and Signal Utility 571 Fund to separately track street-light and traffic-signal revenue and expenses. That change would give the city a clearer accounting structure for a system that pays for power, poles and maintenance across neighborhoods, intersections and business areas.

David Steele said the proposal reflects the limits of North Dakota’s levy framework, which caps annual growth in the dollars levied by taxing districts at 3 percent, with adjustments for new property and certain exceptions. Jamestown’s 2026 budget, approved by the City Council on Oct. 6, 2025, left the city working with just over $12 million in general fund revenue against nearly $12 million in expenditures, leaving only a slim cushion. The city has also approved other utility fee increases for 2026, adding to the pressure on household bills as the council weighs whether to turn street lighting and signals into a recurring utility line item.