Cash-Strapped City Of Phoenix Arizona Throws $70k Into Dumpster

By: Laura Meyers

What do you do when your bankrupt city government is literally throwing your money away?

An Arizona man, David Zorehkey, discovered 14 checks in the dumpster last week, totaling more than $70,000 and made out to the City of Phoenix, AZ.

Zorehkey said that he stopped by a City of Phoenix parking garage to look for boxes inside some recycling bins when he noticed a stack of envelopes with the checks inside.

All of the checks were in sealed envelopes, made out to the City of Phoenix, and none of them had been cashed.

And the worst part is that the city has been in a budget crisis for years, ranked the fourth most indebted American city in 2010.

“I pay taxes – which means some of my taxes are in here,” Zorehkey said. “They’re always complaining about not having enough money for stuff. I’m sure they’d be happy to have an extra $70,000.”

The check varied in amounts, from $50 to $57,000 for things like license renewals, donations to the “Change for Phoenix” fund, and payments from big banks, but no big deal, right?

Zorehkey says he thinks the  public has the right to know why the City of Phoenix is throwing their money away.

“I think it was just total negligence,” Zorehkey said.

And you, sir, would be correct.

CBS 5 – KPHO