City and volunteers report progress on litter, encampments, potholes and graffiti

City public-works, parks and environmental-services leaders presented the second annual beautification and safety report, describing a multi-department effort that city officials said reduced visible litter citywide and increased volunteer engagement.

The nut graf: The annual booklet compiled more than 9,000 constituent reports and quantified operations across 12 initiatives — illegal dumping and encampment cleanup, medians and mural programs, graffiti removal, parks maintenance, and a twice-yearly “blitz” of litter and weed abatement — and called for ongoing funding and cross-agency collaboration to sustain gains.

Carol Branch, director of Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, described the city litter assessment (Keep America Beautiful methodology) and said the citywide average litter score improved from 2.37 in 2024 to 1.98 in 2025. Parks and Open Space Director Melissa McDonald and Superintendent Jason Sharp described encampment outreach: Rangers issued 1,052 24-hour notices resulting in 862 encampment cleanups and removal of roughly 260 tons of debris last year; the city said it attempts to hold property for 10 days when items are removed and routes encampment referrals to outreach providers.

The report also highlighted potholepalooza: for this maintenance event crews filled nearly 5,000 potholes across multiple events last year and city staff said the program is paired with annual pavement rehabilitation appropriations (about $3 million annually) to reduce future needs. Graffiti crews (two-person crew citywide) removed visible tags across public and private property areas, and staff said cold-weather limits removal options and that some graffiti removal and mural programs require partnership with neighborhood groups.

Speakers at council praised volunteers and staff; councilors asked for recurring reporting (quarterly or biannual) and for additional contracting or staff resources to expand graffiti and median maintenance. Director Wheeler said recent hires and contract funds are deployed for medians and trails but acknowledged limits in current budgets. Several councilors urged more proactive posting of commonly requested documents and better website navigation to reduce repetitive CRMs.

Organizers encouraged public participation in the Great American Cleanup and other volunteer programs; Keep Santa Fe Beautiful said it registered 2,500 volunteers for last year’s Great American Cleanup and that partners contributed hundreds of volunteer hours and half a million dollars’ worth of maintenance-value through adopted medians.