So someone takes a spray can and paints on your house. Of course, you’ll wash it off or paint over it.
But, what if you own a business. Should you, the business owner, be required to remove any graffiti?
It’s one of the suggestions Ottumwa City Council members are contemplating.
Several people believe that Ottumwa’s graffiti problem is growing and getting out of hand.
It’s not just so-called gang members who spray paint their names on city buildings. Other pranksters are marking up walls with stupid comments or words.
It is an eyesore.
And one that residents want city leaders to address.
City Health Director Jody Gates has proposed a city ordinance to address the graffiti. Council members took a look at it this week.
In the proposal, property owners would be required to remove the graffiti from their buildings. If they don’t, city workers will do it and assess the costs to real estate taxes.
Council members weighed in on their thoughts.
Why should the victim pay? Isn’t that being victimized twice?
Graffiti is a community problem and should be paid for by the community.
It’s unfair for commercial property owners to have to pay the bill for someone else’s crime.
A graffiti squad is needed to catch offenders.
What fines are any graffiti culprits paying?
The consensus seemed to be that a graffiti abatement program is needed.
Seems to us that would be a community-wide effort.
Graffiti makes our community look bad. We should not tolerate it.
We need to tell police when we see offenders ruining someone else’s property.
Gates, who has led the Make Ottumwa Shine committee’s successful efforts to keep the city clean, said she has heard from many people and organizations who want something to be done to quell the rash of graffiti.
We agree. Something needs to be done. We’ll see what an abatement program looks like.
Opinion
Graffiti needs to go
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