Anaheim : Funds Allocated for Anti-Graffiti Effort

Because of a widespread increase in graffiti, city officials have decided to spend $76,000 to erase the spray paint and encourage residents to take care of their neighborhoods.

An outside graffiti-removal firm will be hired with part of the money to help the city’s volunteer efforts.

More than $50,000 will be paid to Carolyn Griebe & Associates, a public relations firm, to coordinate the volunteer anti-graffiti campaign, which will culminate in “Paint Your Heart Out Anaheim,” a daylong neighborhood improvement program. Some of the funding will also be used for extra city personnel that day.

The event, scheduled for May 4, will use volunteer labor and donated supplies to paint and do minor repairs on at least 25 homes in Anaheim that have been marred by vandals.

In less than one year, nearly 500,000 square feet of graffiti have been painted over by residents in the city’s Adopt-a-Block program.

The all-volunteer effort, which involves neighborhood groups, churches and social groups and relies on donated supplies, is coordinated by a city code enforcement officer. Residents work on Saturdays to paint over graffiti-sprayed walls and streets.

Code enforcement officials that volunteer hours save the city thousands of dollars each month that would otherwise have to be spent on hired contractors.