“Is this another sign of good Folks and poor ADOT fiscal management?”

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, more than highway “waste/trash/crap” was found on our Scenic Highway 89A between Cottonwood and Sedona during an ADOT Adopt-A-Highway (ADOT AAH) litter recovery event. We, as a community, we should thank HALUA HULA NA-PAU-O-KA-LEI-‘lLMA, Sedona Boy Scout Troop #48, Sedona Pines Resort/Cottonwood LDS Boy Scout Troop #7021, and Sedona Pines LLC/Cottonwood LDS Boy Scout Troop #7021 for recovering forty seven bags of illegally dumped litter from OUR Scenic Highway 89A.

These folks restored the beauty to “America the Beautiful” and honored our taxpayers, military, veterans and communities. These folks volunteer efforts will help attract new residents and businesses to our area.

But more “waste/trash/crap” was found on Scenic Highway 89A that day! The other “waste” found on our Scenic Highway 89A was the existence of new, tax payer funded ADOT Adopt-A-Highway signs!

The proof of this waste is shown by the photographs presented with this Letter to the Editor.

Our state officials claim to be out of money and tightening their belts on wasteful spending. If this is the case, then consider the following: ADOT AAH is now providing two new, two panel signs for all new ADOT AAH Permittees. Permittees are those who participate in the Adopt-A-highway Program.

ADOT is also planning to replace the existing one panel signs with the new two panel signs. Is this not a waste of tax payers money? Remind us ADOT and State of Arizona budget what’s wrong with the existing signs?

Consider the fact that the new two-panel signs EXAGGERATE the “ADOT” logo on the upper sign and MINIMIZES the name of the folks who actually pick up the illegally dumped trash on the lower sign.

ADOT employees receive pay checks to make good decisions for the tax payers. Does this “sign” decision seem fiscally responsible to you?

ADOT, shouldn’t the citizens that actually PERFORM THE WORK, WHO ACTUALLY VOLUNTEER to clean up someone’s “waste/trash/CRAP” at least have their name shown where it can be read at 20 mph and without a pair of binoculars? We owe these citizens (volunteers) at least equal or more name recognition as the ADOT logo!

Remember, readers, this is the same ADOT poor management that led to the ACTUAL NEED for VOLUNTEERS!

ADOT bureaucrats are paid tax payer dollars to develop/design and install highway signs.

ADOT bureaucrats manage the history of these and all highway signs.

ADOT bureaucrats manage the performance of the ADOT AAH Permittees (volunteers) cleanup.

What is “managing” the history of the ADOT AAH signs?

Why else are tax payer funded asset labels on the backs of the road signs provided–except to provide a means to justify someone’s time on the tax payer dime to perform unnecessary tasks for new two-panel signs?

How can ADOT and the State of Arizona’s budget justify hours of time spent designing, approving, sending it to the sign shop to be made, assigning crews and trucks to remove and install the new signs rather than do NECESSARY ROAD WORK AND MAINTENANCE TASKS? What Arizona trash pile do we heap the perfectly good old signs into, and at what additional cost to the tax payers is that?

Tax payer dollars should be and must be better managed.

Tax payer dollars are poorly managed by ADOT.  In mine and others opinions, your Arizona tax payer dollars are being used to secure ADOT managers and workers tasks to perform on UNNECESSARY jobs that improperly spend our tax payer dollars. We have NECESSARY work ADOT should be performing if they want to keep jobs!

Gary Chamberlain, Cornville AZ

Volunteer Litter Lifter

FolksvilleUSA@gmail.com