Cities do the cleanup on leftover political signs
Aug 30, 2012, 7:39 AM | Updated: 7:40 am
PHOENIX — Arizona law says political candidates have 15 days after an election to take down campaign signs, but the law has little teeth and the cities usually pick up the signs and sometimes the tab.
Erin Andres with the City of Phoenix Planning and Development said there is no fine for the candidates, so the city will have to send workers to pull the signs down after Sept. 12.
“The bottom line is we remove them, she said. “They’re a safety hazard. They block visibility.”
Andres said it doesn’t cost taxpayers to have the city remove the signs, but it does take away money they receive for signage fees and it takes a lot of time. For example, Mesa only has one part-time employee to take down hundreds of signs in the state’s third-largest city.
“[Phoenix is] short-staffed and [we] haven’t been able to stay ahead of the problem,” Andres said. “There’s a proliferation of signs all over town.”
Andres said the signs are recycled.