Regina's bill to remove graffiti almost doubles

Official suspects `anomaly' during COVID times as 2020 costs hit $137K

Graffiti in Regina skyrocketed during the pandemic, costing the city nearly double in removal costs in 2020 compared to the year before.

“We're assuming that's Covid-related because that was obviously the big difference in our world last year, but we don't really know,” said Brent Krahebil, manager of facilities maintenance for the City of Regina in an interview Monday.

In 2019, costs for graffiti removal on city-owned property totalled $71,900. In 2020, that number jumped to $137,800. Krahebil said the increase wasn't in any specific area of the city or of any particular type of graffiti.

“It was just generally more,” he said, adding he's relieved to see numbers for 2021 are trending at a normal rate again. “At this point it appears it was a one-time anomaly.”

As of the end of June, 2021 cleanup costs were sitting at $44,100.

The amount of graffiti can fluctuate year-to-year based on factors like the weather, said Krahebil, but there's often no rhyme or reason for the amount of graffiti in any given year.

“We've seen other years where sometimes it's higher in spring and lower in fall and sometimes it's higher in fall and lower in spring. You just don't really know,” he said.

In 2018, removal costs totalled $87,900. In 2017, the city spent just $44,400 on graffiti cleanup and in 2016, the city spent $96,000.

The city usually budgets $105,100 per year for removal costs.

Despite the steep increase, incidents of graffiti reported to the Regina Police Service (RPS) in 2020 were fewer than in 2019. From Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2019, the RPS received 260 graffiti-related calls. From Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, there were 217 calls.

From Jan. 1, 2021, to the end of June, there have been 121 calls.

“It's important to note that graffiti does not always get reported, so this number would not necessarily be reflective of all incidents in the city,” Christeen Shire, acting manager of public information and strategic communication for the RPS in an email Monday.

According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Saskbuilds and Procurement is responsible for maintenance of the grounds in Wascana Centre, which includes graffiti removal. Graffiti is either removed by maintenance staff or a contractor is hired to remove it.

Either way, the ministry does not track maintenance tasks “such as individual cases of graffiti removal or expenses,” so was unable to comment on whether there was a similar increase in graffiti within Wascana Centre in 2020.

“It's everybody's responsibility to take graffiti down so if it's on your fence or your property, cover it up, remove it as soon as possible,” said Krahebil.

“And when it's on city property, phone in and we will take care of it.”

He said the city aims to clean up graffiti within 72 hours, or in a case where the graffiti is obscene or racist, within 24 hours.

Residents can call Service Regina at 306-777-7000 to report graffiti.