Sign vandalism is costing Waitaki ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The Waitaki District Council's assets committee heard yesterday the cost could be more than $100,000 a year, although assets group manager Neil Jorgensen said it was difficult to calculate a firm figure.
That cost is added to other vandalism of ratepayer property, including in parks, on reserves and in streets.
"This behaviour [vandalism of signs] is costing the community dearly and is an unnecessary expenditure," Mr Jorgensen said.
The council pays for the repair or replacement of signs out of two budgets.
One is the renewal account, which is funded by depreciation. The council expected to spend about $37,000 from this account this financial year but has exceeded that by about $65,000.
The other account is for repairs. About $90,000 was allocated this year and this has been exceeded by about $16,000.
Mr Jorgensen said most of that $16,000 was to repair damaged signs, but he was unsure how much of the extra $65,000 from the renewal account was for vandalism.
When a sign was damaged by vandals the council looked at whether the sign was sufficiently old that it qualified for being replaced using depreciation or whether the cost came from the repairs account.
Damage was not confined to the urban areas and ranged from graffiti on signs to damage by vehicles.
