Good Question: Should Detroit Get Out Of The Lighting Business?

By Christy Strawser
CBS Detroit Managing Editor
So the lights went out Thursday across Detroit -- darkness fell at what are usually the brightest spots in the city: Wayne State University, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library.

Schools are shuttered.

 Why? No one seems to know.

"You'd have to talk to the city and the public lighting department to determine that," Detroit schools spokesman Steve Wasko told WWJ news radio. "All we know is it's affecting our schools … It's somewhat unpredictable, hitting all corners of the city and our schools that are on the public lighting department grid."

Earlier today, WWJ reporter Vickie Thomas spoke to Detroit Councilman James Tate, who floated the idea that maybe, just maybe, the city of Detroit is not in a position to run the public lighting system anymore. He suggested privatization as a viable option.

"We might actually have to provide the lighting system to an outside entity, to a private company that would be able to come in, who could invest capital dollars, who could do some bonding," he said.

Experts say an antiquated electrical grid needs millions in upgrades to become efficient. But cash strapped and beset by infrastructure needs, Detroit doesn't have the budget to make it happen.
Tate said it would be "nearly impossible" for the city to fund an overhaul of the lighting system with the current budget.
Right now, that leaves school children and college students without classrooms, and the public without its main library or cultural institutions.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Is it time for Detroit to give up the business of public lighting -- or would losing it send the wrong message about the city as it struggles to  make a comeback?