AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's Downtown Commission wants to combat graffiti across the city, but it needs some help from the city in order to do so.
In January 2023, the commission voted to create an anti-graffiti task force aimed at speeding up the process of cleaning it up.
"The city did not have a great process in place to address the graffiti challenges we have in the city," August Harris, chair of the Downtown Commission, said.
Harris explained that last year, he noticed the city had become a canvas for vandals and the expense to abate the graffiti was coming at a great cost toward the city and businesses affected by it.
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department spends around $546,000, according to the Downtown Commission.
Last week, members revisited its recommendation to city council in an effort to have them allocate funding toward the task force through the city's upcoming budget, which will likely be tackled by new city manager T.C. Broadnax.
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The goal is to establish a $2 million budget for the task force, which Harris said is an amount already being used to abate graffiti in the city.
"This just put it in one bundle, in one streamlined package, so it was more efficient and so that this issue could be dealt with more effectively across the city," Harris said.
Harris added that the purpose is to remove the graffiti that is done without permission.
"Some of the work that's done is very artistic, but if it's done on private or public property without the owner's consent, it is a violation of the state penal code," Harris said.
KVUE reached out to the city about the recommendation. A city spokesperson sent with the following statement:
“The city understands that this recommendation was made, but we don't have a "stance" to share at this point and aren’t in a position to provide any possible budgetary implications, since it's just been brought to our attention."
The HOPE Outdoor Gallery, which once sat on Baylor Street in Downtown Austin, gave artists free range to express their artistic ability in a public space. But it was permanently closed down in 2019, with the expectation that it would be reopened across from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport.
According to its website, a date has yet to be scheduled for its opening.