HUBBARD TOWNSHIP — Officials took a look at one of the township’s improvement areas and voted to maintain the rates of their lighting districts for 2026.

Fiscal Officer Jennifer Evans said at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting that trustees had to discuss lighting assessment rates because they needed to get back to the county auditor if there’s a change for next year. Evans clarified to residents that because of increases in costs for maintenance, trustees were debating whether they needed to increase the amount of money withheld in the township’s nine lighting districts.

“This was just sent out to us, and they gave us a breakdown of each of the lighting districts and how much they’re being charged,” Evans said. “And as we all know, the cost of everything goes up — so we need to determine how much we increase each lighting district.”

Trustee Monica Baker said a street light request had to be incorporated into the rate increases, only if trustees agreed to move forward with it. She also suggested a possible provisional motion if the cost of the street light exceeds $10,000.

“I don’t think, personally, we should be doing a motion on a provision when we don’t have a cost, because that’s a cost we should probably be breaking out into that lighting district,” Trustee Jason Tedrow said. “That’s going to increase costs overall, so how are we supposed to break that out when we do not have an estimate?”

Baker said she was making approximations from 2025’s expenses on the streetlight, which would be part of the township’s Bell Wick Road-Mount Everett lighting section at Anthony Circle and Mount Everett.

The expense in question was for a light at Hubbard, Bedford and Potter Wheeler for $12,000, but the invoice for it was only $8,000, Baker said, estimating the streetlight request to be $10,000.

Trustee Bill Colletta said trustees elected to not increase rates over previous years because the township was carrying over a large amount, which is frowned upon with lighting.

“I knew where we stood with the carryover amount, and we were able to do two projects last year — one on Upland Drive, which was just a lighting installation,” Colletta said. “The one on Potter Wheeler and Bedford Road was a larger project, which included a pole (and) wire. That’s why the cost of it was so much.”

Colletta suggested that trustees ask engineers if they could make a streetlight work off an existing pole, add one or string wire.

Colletta said he spoke with an Ohio Edison representative, who said there were planned increases to the street lighting rate.

“I wanted a percentage of what the increase was going to be; however, they’re in negotiations with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio,” Colletta said. “They would not even give me a timeframe of when it would be concluded.”

Colletta said officials from other townships are having the same issue, but they all raised their rates modestly.

“Talking to the fiscal officer, that’s where we’re at; I think we should raise them a little — not a lot — and then decide mid-year if you have to back out,” Colletta said. “According to what we figured out this year, we will probably be right at the number or be a little negative as it stands.”

“I said to figure a 3% increase, and we can’t sustain that,” he added.

Even if there was a drastic change in 2026, Tedrow said officials could wait and see what it is because the account could eat it, with $19,000 in it as is.

Evans said she didn’t think the township wanted to be higher than $20,000 in carryover.

Colletta said Hubbard was one of two townships that had not increased their lighting rates.