Salem moves to replace old streetlight bulbs with LEDs

The city recently purchased its streetlights at minimal cost and now plans to replace the old light bulbs with energy-efficient LED lights, saving taxpayers an estimated $3 million over the next 10 years. Mayor Kim Driscoll has asked the City Council to authorize a seven-year, lease-to-own agreement with Century Bank to pay for the new LED lights, which will be provided and installed by Siemens. The cost is $1.3 million at an interest rate of 2.61 percent. The city chose to finance the purchase through the bank with a short-term, lease-to-own agreement, rather than putting more pressure on the operating budget to pay the entire $1.3 million up front, Driscoll said. She said the council has to sign off on the lease since it’s longer than three years.