STATE SPENDS TAX DOLLARS TO TOUT ROAD CONSTRUCTION

The state is spending thousands of federal stimulus dollars - money intended to create jobs and jumpstart the economy - to construct more than 100 metal road signs to tell motorists that stimulus funds are being used to fund road improvement projects across the state.

State Reps. Pete Lund and Kim Meltzer today blasted the governor for wasting taxpayer money and called for an immediate halt to the work. They estimate the cost at $300,000.

"I am absolutely astounded that the governor's administration would authorize such a flagrant waste of taxpayer money at a time when our state is already $1.7 billion in the hole," said Lund, R-Shelby Township. "How about instead of spending money on signs to tell drivers we are fixing the roads, we use the money to actually fix the roads?"

The signs, which are an optional state expenditure, read "Putting America to Work. This project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor." Because federal funds are used, it is a violation of federal regulations for Granholm's name to appear on the signs. MDOT announced it will stop using the governor's name in the future after House Republicans raised concerns, but will not remove it from signs currently in place.

"I'd like to know how the governor can possibly justify this unnecessary, extraordinarily wasteful expenditure on what essentially amounts to a publicity stunt when she just fired 100 state police troopers to save money, and now the governor is talking about raising taxes on gas," said Meltzer, of Clinton Township. "Talk about priorities that are out-of-whack. For every $100,000 the state spends on these signs, a state trooper's job could be saved."

The head of MDOT recently proposed raising taxes on gas and threatened to cancel 137 road improvement projects due to lack of funding. Michigan has the fifth highest taxes on gas in the nation.

Lund and Meltzer also renewed their call for the state to create a publicly-searchable website to show taxpayers how their money is spent. Granholm has so far rejected calls to increase government transparency by posting expenditures online.

"Nobody knows exactly how much MDOT is spending on these signs, and the administration has refused to disclose to lawmakers the exact amount. That's a problem. Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent," Lund said.

Lund figured his $300,000 cost estimate based on the number of stimulus-related projects where the department plans to use signs. MDOT says the overall cost is only $15,000, but Lund questioned the accuracy of that number, noting that figure does not factor in all the projects where signage has been called for in the bid specifications and in which the contractor has worked the cost of the signs into the overall project. Each custom sign costs approximately $1,000 to fabricate and install, and two signs are used per project to alert drivers in both directions.