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Bureau of Street Environmental Services reports 20% rise in service orders, big increases in graffiti abatements
Summary
Acting BSES Superintendent Jonathan Vang and code enforcement supervisor Wuji Chung reported a 20% increase in service orders to more than 163,000 in fiscal year 2024–25, a 3 percentage‑point rise in response rate, a 77% increase in reported tonnage and growth in private graffiti abatements under the opt‑in program concentrated in the Mission.
Jonathan Vang, acting superintendent of the Bureau of Street Environmental Services, told the Sanitation and Streets Commission that the department saw service orders rise about 20% to over 163,000 in fiscal year 2024–25, driven in part by increased internal tracking and proactive service orders created without a 311 customer request.
Vang said the department's response rate improved by 3 percentage points despite the higher volume. He also reported a roughly 77% increase in reported debris tonnage for the fiscal year, but cautioned that staff are working with the performance team to correct category allocations so tonnage by work category is accurate.
Private graffiti and the opt‑in program
Wuji Chung, who oversees private‑property graffiti inspection and enforcement, reported that private‑property graffiti service orders dropped about 22% compared with the prior year but that the graffiti opt‑in program produced more than 9,300 abatements since inception and has been made permanent by the Board of Supervisors with annual funding attached. The opt‑in program focuses on commercial corridors; Chung said 60% of private‑property abatement addresses are in Zone D (the Mission), with 13% in Zone F, and that a small number of properties require repeated abatements.
Chung said 57% of addresses had been abated five or fewer times and described outreach to property owners and coordination with SFPD and other partners for addresses that are repeatedly targeted.
311 duplicates and data challenges
Commissioners and staff discussed duplicate 311 requests and a third‑party app that may bypass duplicate‑filtering logic. Vang and other staff said crews can close duplicates via a dropdown reason code, but closing duplicates after the fact takes staff time. The department has been working with 311 on duplicate detection and ran a pilot using AI that did not succeed previously; staff said they remain engaged with 311 to find better solutions as tools evolve.
Enforcement partnerships
Several staff said they are sharing repeat‑target lists with SFPD to enable enforcement action. The city attorney's office, represented at the meeting by name in discussion, has expressed interest in civil enforcement against illegal dumpers and repeat graffiti vandals; staff noted the city attorney's office previously used civil remedies against a tagger and is pursuing similar avenues.
Commissioners' questions and operational notes
Commissioners asked about how tonnage correlates with crew time and whether the department can produce metrics linking time‑to‑complete and tonnage. Staff said crews log start and finish times for service orders and that the performance team could analyze time versus tonnage.
Deputy Director Dejada Durden and other operations staff described field challenges: some taggers work quickly and shift tactics, multi‑jurisdictional enforcement priorities influence outcomes, and repeated abatements in commercial corridors remain resource‑intensive. Staff said they are procuring replacement trash receptacles and that a new city‑can design is entering production under contract.
Sources and evidence
This article is based on the Bureau of Street Environmental Services performance report and subsequent commissioner questions and staff answers as presented at the Sanitation and Streets Commission meeting on Aug. 20, 2025.
