Correction appended
Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith announced today that signs on town property will not bear her name.
It’s a departure from tradition Jens-Smith says will save the town more than $1,000. Due to a misunderstanding, the supervisor issued a press release yesterday saying that the savings would be $14,000; but that number was based on an incorrect figure for the cost of changing each sign. The $1,000 cost was not the cost per sign but the total cost to make the change in 2010, the last time Riverhead had a new supervisor take office.
At that point, Jens-Smith said today, the town’s contractor for signage, Wedel Sign Co. of Riverhead, suggested using vinyl lettering for the names and using a separate name plate, so the signs themselves would not need to be changed, saving the town a lot of money.
In any case, the new supervisor said, her name won’t be on every sign throughout town.
“We don’t need to do that kind of self-promotion,” Jens-Smith said.
“Our Riverhead signs are a nice way to welcome visitors to our town, beaches and parks. But it seems unnecessary to include the names of officials, especially when that money would better serve the community elsewhere,” the new supervisor said.
Correction: Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith this morning corrected the cost she quoted in a press release yesterday. This story has been updated to reflect the correction.
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