You think graffiti problem is bad now?
New plan of attack could worsen it, some say
By ERIC SAGARA
Tucson Citizen
Graffiti around Tucson are getting worse, and neighbors and a nonprofit worry that we all will see more under a city program that will be rolled out next week.
On the list of problems - crime, traffic and streets - graffiti may seem as if they should be low on the priority list.
However, graffiti can cause businesses to lose customers, lead to increases in gang activity and other crimes and lower property values.
The city will spend $280,000 next year to clean up graffiti, about the same as this year.
On top of that, the city this year is funding education and code enforcement components.
The main contractor in the past, the nonprofit Graffiti Abatement Program in Tucson (GAPIT), will no longer clean up streets, signs and walls.
The organization, which uses volunteers, prison inmates and juvenile offenders, did not bid on the contract this year because of changes in city policies and the city's failure to increase funding.
''They wanted to take over the calls and basically break up the central clearinghouse that was already in place,'' said Michelle Phillips, GAPIT's executive director. ''Had the program been funded a little more at the level at which we wanted to address the problem,then perhaps it would have been a little more of an investment to stay.''
Using another contractor means the cost of cleaning could rise, and with no additional funding, the amount cleaned would fall, according to some critics of the change.
''I think the city has screwed up bad. (Graffiti cleanup) seems like a horrific effort,'' said Steve McManus, owner of the Truck Stop and a potential contractor. ''They were getting it done at a very inexpensive rate. It seems to me that if they don't do it this way, they're not going to be nearly as effective. Now they have to get considerably more involved.''
Last year, GAPIT cleaned up nearly 38,000 instances of graffiti at a cost of $12.78 an hour to the city. If city officials use a private contractor, that rate could climb to as high as $45 an hour, according to GAPIT and at least one potential contractor.
At that rate, the city would be able to pay for 6,222 hours of graffiti cleanup with the budgeted $280,000. Last year GAPIT spent 21,911 hours cleaning up markings for the same money.
Janie Caldwell, a Midvale Park resident who is waging her own war on graffiti, also said cutting off GAPIT is a mistake.
''This city is going to look like a ghetto,'' she said. ''It's becoming a bad problem and not just in Midvale. It's all over the city.''
Eliseo Garza, director of the Department of Neighborhood Resources, said the city may still use inmates and juvenile offenders and that other nonprofits are interested in contracting with the city to clean up graffiti.
''We want to make it a pretty broad-based coalition of people to help us address this issue,'' he said.
''I would hate to jump to the conclusion that (graffiti abatement) is going to lag or it's going to cost more,'' Garza said. ''That's the kind of thing we're hoping to look at in the bid evaluation.''
The city's deadline for bids was Friday afternoon.
Garza said he does not know how much it will cost to clean up graffiti, but he hopes better statistics and a look at hard-hit areas will provide a better understanding of the problem.
Using more detailed statistics, the department will map incidents and track the rise and fall of graffiti. It will also be able to keep better track of the cleanup crews.
By Eric Sagara, Tucon Citizen
New plan of attack could worsen it, some say
By ERIC SAGARA
Tucson Citizen
Graffiti around Tucson are getting worse, and neighbors and a nonprofit worry that we all will see more under a city program that will be rolled out next week.
On the list of problems - crime, traffic and streets - graffiti may seem as if they should be low on the priority list.
However, graffiti can cause businesses to lose customers, lead to increases in gang activity and other crimes and lower property values.
The city will spend $280,000 next year to clean up graffiti, about the same as this year.
On top of that, the city this year is funding education and code enforcement components.
The main contractor in the past, the nonprofit Graffiti Abatement Program in Tucson (GAPIT), will no longer clean up streets, signs and walls.
The organization, which uses volunteers, prison inmates and juvenile offenders, did not bid on the contract this year because of changes in city policies and the city's failure to increase funding.
''They wanted to take over the calls and basically break up the central clearinghouse that was already in place,'' said Michelle Phillips, GAPIT's executive director. ''Had the program been funded a little more at the level at which we wanted to address the problem,then perhaps it would have been a little more of an investment to stay.''
Using another contractor means the cost of cleaning could rise, and with no additional funding, the amount cleaned would fall, according to some critics of the change.
''I think the city has screwed up bad. (Graffiti cleanup) seems like a horrific effort,'' said Steve McManus, owner of the Truck Stop and a potential contractor. ''They were getting it done at a very inexpensive rate. It seems to me that if they don't do it this way, they're not going to be nearly as effective. Now they have to get considerably more involved.''
Last year, GAPIT cleaned up nearly 38,000 instances of graffiti at a cost of $12.78 an hour to the city. If city officials use a private contractor, that rate could climb to as high as $45 an hour, according to GAPIT and at least one potential contractor.
At that rate, the city would be able to pay for 6,222 hours of graffiti cleanup with the budgeted $280,000. Last year GAPIT spent 21,911 hours cleaning up markings for the same money.
Janie Caldwell, a Midvale Park resident who is waging her own war on graffiti, also said cutting off GAPIT is a mistake.
''This city is going to look like a ghetto,'' she said. ''It's becoming a bad problem and not just in Midvale. It's all over the city.''
Eliseo Garza, director of the Department of Neighborhood Resources, said the city may still use inmates and juvenile offenders and that other nonprofits are interested in contracting with the city to clean up graffiti.
''We want to make it a pretty broad-based coalition of people to help us address this issue,'' he said.
''I would hate to jump to the conclusion that (graffiti abatement) is going to lag or it's going to cost more,'' Garza said. ''That's the kind of thing we're hoping to look at in the bid evaluation.''
The city's deadline for bids was Friday afternoon.
Garza said he does not know how much it will cost to clean up graffiti, but he hopes better statistics and a look at hard-hit areas will provide a better understanding of the problem.
Using more detailed statistics, the department will map incidents and track the rise and fall of graffiti. It will also be able to keep better track of the cleanup crews.
By Eric Sagara, Tucon Citizen
