The astute members of our Logowatch Team, Bierut and Millman, direct us towards this aesthetic scuffle in Glens Falls, New York, affectionately referred to as "Hometown U.S.A." It appears Milton Glaser was paid $25,000 to create a logo commemorating the city's centennial in 2008. And according to one editoral for the veritable local publication Post Star the city is getting ripped off:

The new logo for the upcoming city centennial features a window with rays of sunshine at the top. It was designed by artist Milton Glaser. Most of us have never heard of him. For those who haven't, he came up with the idea of putting a heart between the "I" and "NY" in the "I Love New York" campaign. He's also designed some posters you might have seen. But he's not exactly Andy Warhol as far as being a household name.

The writer suggests that a local designer may have been better suited for the job and would definitely have saved the city some money. But being the rather design-curious folks we are, we checked with the city council records to find out how, for example, a name like Milton Glaser's makes its way into a city council meeting in Hometown U.S.A. (answer: misspelled). The following is from the minutes of the meeting and tells an entirely different story:

Mayor Akins stated on the LDC and IDA they've been trying to find the right logos. With the City's Centennial coming up he had been looking for a logo and print material for the 2008 celebration and for the City to use thereafter. He reached out to Milton Glasier and asked him if he was willing to jump in to this question with him. He said he would be willing to work with him on developing a logo and a poster, which they could sell and he would sign 100 of them. It will cost between $20-25,000 for the entire package - $10,000 for the logo and $15,000 for the poster, which they could sell to get some of the money back. It would help create a new image for the City and a cornerstone to work with thereafter.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to us. It's a shame, though, they couldn't get them signed by someone like, say, Andy Warhol.