Medford to pay overtime to remove illegal signs

by Monica Hollenbeck for The Central Record

MEDFORDAt the June 17 town council meeting, township manager Christopher Schultz said Medford is stepping up efforts to take down unsightly and illegal signs on utility poles around town.

According to Schultz, the state law that says its illegal to put signs on poles also requires utility companies to make a reasonable effort to keep signs off the poles. Schultz said he contacted Atlantic City Electric and was told they are overwhelmed by the number of signs on poles.

Schultz has decided to use money from the Clean Communities grant to pay two township public works employees overtime to take down the signs, zone by zone. He plans to bill the utility companies for the work, but the goal is to get the signs down as soon as possible.

The signs will be stored and inventoried. The township will then contact the legitimate businesses and give them warning that putting the signs on utility poles is illegal and they will be taken to court if it continues.

Schultz said the non-legitimate businesses, such as advertising for services like power washing, are difficult to get a hold of because they usually only provide cell phone numbers and will only allow you to leave a message. Since it is not a criminal issue, the police cannot look up the numbers.

Schultz would like some of the councilmen to go with him to Legislative District 8 and see if township can get power to make this illegal so police can go after them.

The issue of the illegal signs has come up several times in council meetings, most recently when a commercial property owner complained at the May 20 meeting that the signs are making the town look bad.

Schultz says the signs are a never-ending problem and the township has a part-time public official who has been doing her best to take them down.

He said signs are often put intentionally high up on poles, making them difficult to remove. Schultz has asked the public for help to provide license plates if they spot someone putting up a sign.

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Medford to pay overtime to remove illegal signs