CITY OF TALLAHASSEE
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED ON: March 25, 2009
SUBJECT/TITLE: Presentation of Graffiti Abatement Program
TARGET ISSUE: Public Safety

STATEMENT OF ISSUE
The City of Tallahassee continues to experience graffiti incidents throughout the community. Currently, there is no ordinance addressing graffiti abatement on private parcels, and the City has been partially effective in abating graffiti on public property as evidenced by the CSX railroad bridge on South Monroe Street. To comprehensively address graffiti throughout the community in a consistent manner, the City staff has developed a Graffiti Abatement Program that encourages employee-wide involvement and community-wide participation.

The proposed Graffiti Abatement Program includes organizational-wide procedures for abating graffiti on public property, and it establishes communication tools for educating citizens on the negative impacts of graffiti within the community. Seeking broader involvement, the Program establishes protocols for citizens and employees to use to report graffiti while introducing new services that assist citizens in abating graffiti on private property. The proposed Program brings accountability into abatement procedures by assigning program oversight responsibilities to the SNS Assistant City Manager (ACM) and program coordination responsibilities to the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD). Program effectiveness will be measured through key metrics and said results frequently reported to the City Commission, City Manager and Executive Team for consideration.

RECOMMENDED ACTION
No action required at this time. The City staff will be implementing the program on April 8, 2009. The proposed graffiti ordinance will be presented at the next Long Range Planning Target Issue Committee meeting, then brought before the City Commission for introduction and adoption.

FISCAL IMPACT
None. The recommended program will be completed within the existing budget and through the use of donated paint supplies and materials.

Jay Townsend, Assistant City Manager, Safety and Neighborhood Services

Anita Favors Thompson, City Manager

For information, please contact: Jay Townsend, Assistant City Manager for Safety and Neighborhood Services, (891-8041)

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/ISSUE ANALYSIS
HISTORY/FACTS & ISSUES
Graffiti is defined as writing, drawings or symbols applied to any surface without the consent of the property owner, authorized agent or designee. Graffiti is a serious crime that impacts all of us, and its removal and repair are damaging and costly. Property is devalued, business owners can lose customers and the presence of graffiti sends a message that a neighborhood could be in decline. With poor economic conditions, this type of crime typically intensifies if not addressed by the community, and it can lead to other types of property crime such as vandalism.

Historically, the City of Tallahassee has not had a systematic approach to dealing with graffiti throughout the City. Lacking documented and coordinated procedures across departments, graffiti removal is often slow or not reported in a timely manner. To that end, the City Manager has directed the implementation of a comprehensive Graffiti Abatement Program to institutionalize an abatement approach among the community and the organization that is sustainable, cost-effective and that improves the quality of life of Tallahassee residents.

The proposed abatement program differs from past practices in that the program will follow three distinct approaches to abatement:

• Educating and communicating the effects of graffiti to stakeholders and citizens while immediately addressing graffiti on “public” property.
• Identifying resources to aid business owners and private citizens in removing graffiti on private property such as enlisting volunteers and receiving donated paints and supplies and finally;
• Implementing an enforcement ordinance that addresses graffiti on private property to resolve those incidents where voluntary abatement did not work or was not wanted.

The goal of the new Graffiti Abatement Program is the removal of all graffiti within three business days of being identified. The Program outlines reporting protocols for both citizens and employees for identifying graffiti on public and private properties; it creates a communication and education component to promote community awareness; and it assigns responsibilities and processes for public property abatement. In addition, the Program creates self-help and volunteer assist services for citizens for private property abatement, and it ensures the institutionalization of graffiti abatement in the organization by assigning program oversight to the SNS ACM and TPD. A key element of the program is the identification and reporting of key metrics to the City Commission, City Manager and Executive Team to allow for continual program evaluation of the initiative’s community-wide impact.

Sherman Williams Paint Company and Keep Tallahassee-Leon County Beautiful have agreed to provide paint, supplies and labor to support targeted “paint-outs” on a temporary basis.

Schedule of Events. In preparation for introducing the Graffiti Abatement Program to the City and the organization, the following schedule of events has been established:

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
N/A

OPTIONS
No action required at this time. The City staff will be implementing the program on April 8, 2009. The proposed graffiti ordinance will be presented at the next Long Range Planning Target Issue Committee meeting, then brought before the City Commission for introduction and adoption.

ATTACHMENTS/REFERENCES
1. Graffiti Abatement Administrative Policy
2. Graffiti Communications Plan