October 16, 2009

A GOOD SIGN FOR WISCONSIN
A legislative column by state Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)

Remember during the 1980’s the Pentagon was paying $500 for a hammer and $1,000 for a toilet seat?

One would have hoped and thought that the federal government had learned its lesson. It may have outdone itself.

America’s landscape is dotted with red, white, blue, green and orange road signs at construction projects paid for by the exorbitant stimulus program. The self-congratulatory signs read, “PUTTING AMERICA TO WORK, Project Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” If accuracy and straight forwardness was at stake, the signs would simply read, “You taxpayers paid a lot for this project and for this sign, too!”

Here comes the slap in the face to taxpayers. Depending on size and locations, the signs range in cost from a few hundred dollars, that is bad enough, to $4,000.

Talk about sticker shock!

What’s that? You say with all the extensive, widespread construction going on that you have yet to come across one of these signs?  You haven’t seen one and you won’t.

I am happy to learn that Wisconsin has not put up a single costly road sign bragging that a specific project was funded through stimulus funding. Chris Klein of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) reports the decision not to use the expensive signs was made very early during the stimulus process. Wisconsin had an opportunity to put up the signs; however, the state, I am very pleased to say rejected the idea immediately.

Klein says the DOT has been asked by some local municipalities to use the signs. The DOT has informed those communities they can erect the signs if they choose; however the locals must pay for them out of their own budgets. Not surprisingly, the DOT has yet to have anyone take them up on the offer.

Some states were not as fortunate and now have big bills to pay. The New York Times reports Georgia was putting up two signs at each stimulus project at an average cost of $1,200 per sign.  The state had 119 construction contracts awarded through September. Do the math. After paying $285,600 for signs, Georgia decided it had enough, that the signs were a waste. It intends to use the money saved from rejecting further signs for more construction projects. Georgia joins Texas, Virginia, Florida, and New York as states that have stopped using the signs because of the high cost.

An effort in Congress to halt the use of the signs failed on party lines. Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire introduced an amendment to end the use of what he called, “signs to nowhere.” Only five Democrats joined the Senate's 40 Republicans in support of the amendment that was defeated, 52-45.Gregg was stunned by the vote.

“I just find it absurd that we're putting up all these signs all over the country with taxpayer money telling taxpayers we're spending their money. Most taxpayers can figure that out. We don't have to put up a sign and tell them we're spending their money,” Gregg told FOX News.

Gregg says the total cost of the “signs to nowhere” nationwide ranges from $6 million to $20 million. However, they have not seen the light of day in Wisconsin, and that’s a very good sign.

If you have comments on this or any other issue, please contact me at Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov, www.SenatorLazich.com, Senator Mary Lazich, State Capitol, P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707 or 1-800-334-1442