The city of San Diego should consolidate its graffiti abatement program to make it more efficient, according to a report released Wednesday by the city auditor.
Responsibilities for receiving complaints, distributing information and cleaning up tagging or gang signs are currently shared by two city departments – the Streets Division and Neighborhood Code Compliance, plus the nonprofit Urban Corps of San Diego County, according to the report.
The auditor said the decentralized system results in slow response times for graffiti removal, lost complaints, inefficient assignments of personnel, residents who don’t know where to report defaced property, and an inability to provide performance data to city leaders and the public.
The agency’s investigation found limited outreach efforts, a lack of coordination among community groups involved in graffiti control, a lower expenditure of resources than other cities, and limited oversight of the Urban Corps contract.
According to figures provided by the auditor, the city of San Diego budgeted more than $1.5 million for graffiti abatement in the 2009 fiscal year. Last year, the amount was just under $800,000. The number of city employees involved in graffiti control has dropped by two-thirds over that period.
Those resources are far less than other major cities in the western U.S., according to the audit.
The 14 recommendations made by the auditor included centralizing graffiti duties within the Streets Division, studying whether it would be better to contract the function out to a vendor, and creation of performance measures like response times.
Tony Heinrichs, the city’s deputy chief operating officer for infrastructure and public works, agreed with all of the recommendations.
The auditor said the costs of graffiti include a perception of blight, increased fear of gang activity among residents, reduced use of public transit, less retail sales and lower property values. The report also cited a theory that initial signs of disorder in a neighborhood can attract further crime.
– City News Service
