Michigan state Rep. Maureen Stapleton, who represents Detroit, last week introduced legislation that would create a bond-issuing authority to take over the city’s troubled lighting department.
The three-bill package would in part create a five-member authority that would be able to issue bonds to finance capital improvements that could total $160 million, city officials said.
It remains unclear what revenue would back the debt, though one proposal includes tapping a piece of the utility users’ tax.
More than half of the city’s estimated 88,000 streetlights are out of service, according to one local report.