AMSTERDAM — Alan Sherman, who lives near Amsterdam High School, said Tuesday he’s well aware of the problem the city is having with vandalized stop signs.

Someone spray-painted the word “war” on the sign at the intersection of Midline Road and Saratoga Avenue near Sherman’s home, making it read “stop war.”

Police are looking for vandals who have spray-painted more than 65 stop signs throughout the city to add the word “war,” according to Assistant Chief Victor Hugo. The problem has been going on for months and has spread to Hagaman. So far, police have no leads.

“We don’t know who it is,” Hugo said. “It could be kids or an adult who feels strongly about the war and this is their form of protesting.”

Sherman is well aware of the problem because he is the county’s sign maintenance supervisor in charge of making new signs to replace the defaced ones.

Most of the marked signs are old and made from very low-grade material, which is impossible to clean.

“If there is anything to clean them [with], we haven’t found it yet,” Sherman said.

Most of the signs have to be replaced, a task that could cost the city a few thousand dollars.

According to Sherman, municipalities are forced to update various road signs including stop signs. New signs are made from more reflective material and wash clean but are more expensive.

Sherman said each sign, including labor, would cost about $55.

Sherman said even though the county has old material, which would be cheaper for the city, it is illegal for the county to sell signs that don’t meet state and federal regulations.

Hugo said city employees have already begun repairing defaced stop signs by placing a sheet of red vinyl over the graffiti.

“It’s an experiment, but we are trying to save money,” Hugo said.

Resurfacing the sign is cheaper than replacing all 65 signs that have been marked. At the end of the budget season, Hugo said, the city doesn’t have enough money to replace all the signs at once.

Alderman William Wills, D-4th Ward, said many of the city’s stop signs have faded and should be replaced.

“We don’t have enough money to replace all of them that have gone bad, which is a safety concern,” he said.

Sherman agreed that many of the city’s signs are in poor shape and will need to be replaced to meet the new guidelines.

As for the vandalism, Hugo said, it seems to be subsiding.

“Things seem to be at a standstill right now,” Hugo said. “I checked one [sign] this morning that had been surfaced over and it hadn’t been touched.”