After Tuesday’s blog post, I did hear from Councilwoman Angela Hunt and had the chance to discuss our February issue with her. One thing that came up in conversation was Dallas’ ongoing problem with graffiti, and she mentioned that $200,000 was added to this year’s budget to hire a couple of people specifically for graffiti clean up. Once they’re hired (hopefully by February, she says) neighbors will be able to call the city and, instead of paying $200+ for graffiti clean-up on their private property, they can sign a waiver and the city will make it disappear, free of charge. (Though paint-matching fees will apply unless you choose one of the four preset paint colors.)
This change is patterned after similar efforts in Phoenix, Ariz., whose graffiti abatment program also started out small but now has an annual budget of $1.4 million. Hunt says she’s been spending time trying to convince other council members that graffiti is not just a problem, it’s a problem people care about. She feels like her point was proved with the massive turnout at May’s graffiti wipe-out event, which Hunt helped organize. "When 700 people turn out across the city, I think we made some people take notice," she told me.
Anyone interested can read more about it on her blog, which Hunt has updated with four posts over the past three days.