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Shelton staff report rising cleanup costs for homeless encampments; council considers budgeting options
Summary
Public-works staff told the council that homeless encampment cleanups, graffiti removal and abandoned-property clearances have produced significant unbudgeted overtime and disposal fees so far in 2025. Councilors asked staff to quantify recurring costs and consider dedicated budget lines or using other funds for properties owned by utilities.
Public Works staff briefed the Shelton City Council on June 10 about increasing costs tied to homeless encampment cleanups, graffiti removal, abandoned property clearups and associated dump fees. Staff said the work is largely performed by the street department and that some costs were not included in the 2025 base budget.
Public Works reported year-to-date cleanup spending of approximately $15,000 tied to on-the-ground responses, plus an earlier city-manager-authorized allocation for portable toilets and related services. Staff said the department logs time for crews performing camp cleanup or debris removal under a time-card category labeled “homeless” to track those activities. The city manager has also committed some funds this year for dump fees and related responses.
Public Works identified a recurring operational choice: continue reactive cleanups as calls arise, or budget a proactive clean-up line to reduce large periodic expenditures. Staff noted that monitoring and weekly walks of city properties help keep problems from escalating into large cleanups that require contractor services and heavy equipment. The department also said a potential equipment purchase — a hook-lift truck that would let staff set and retrieve roll-off dumpsters — could reduce long-term disposal costs and logistics for large cleanups, although the truck itself requires upfront capital.
Council members discussed using other funds to offset costs when cleanups occur on utility-owned property and whether to surplus certain unused city parcels to remove attractors for camping. One council member suggested budgeting more proactively, saying the cost of proactive, weekly maintenance could reduce large end-of-cycle expenses. Several council members framed basic downtown cleanliness and encampment response as core municipal services that are difficult to eliminate without broader consequences.
Council direction and next steps: Staff will assemble a clearer year-to-date cost accounting for encampment-related cleanups, estimate the recurring annual expense under a proactive-monitoring model, and provide cost/benefit analysis for equipment purchases (for example, a hook-lift truck) and for potential property surplus or remediation.
