By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    South Portland police officers now have the
authority to catch graffiti vandals before they leave their mark on
public or private property. The city council unanimously approved the
effective with passage ordinance, which fines vandals up to $250 for
their first offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

    “The business community is excited this is moving
forward,” said Jim Soule. He said one local business owner promptly
painted over graffiti on his building after Soule informed him about
not only the ordinance, but that a local homeowner was having trouble
selling his home because of its proximity to the building.

     At its April 18 meeting, the council voted to
remove the graffiti nuisance property section of the ordinance in which
property owners would also be responsible for paying fines if the
graffiti was not removed within seven days of notification from the
police department.

    Soule, who has been a proponent of beefing up the
police department’s surveillance capabilities, also proposed a council
order to allow the police department to spend up to $10,000 on new or
rehabilitated cameras and software.

    At Linda Boudreau’s inquiry into where the $10,000
would come from, City Manager Ted Jankowski said most of the money
would be homeland security funds and if needed, the contingency fund.

    Jankowski stressed the ordinance is a “comprehensive
effort” to combat vandalism in the city. He said the Graffiti Task
Force-made up of representatives from schools, businesses, the police
department, and the public- would look for ways to educate and provide
assistance with graffiti removal. Under the ordinance, minors
possessing graffiti implements on or near school facilities and any
person possessing implements near or on private or public property are
subject to fines. Any person, other than a parent or guardian,
providing a minor with graffiti implements is also violating the
ordinance.