Casper councilors push to move long-pending graffiti abatement program forward

Council members at a Casper work session said the city’s graffiti abatement program has been on council lists for years and urged staff to bring a concrete plan back to the body.

At the meeting, Speaker 3 said the graffiti abatement program “has been on there since my…5 years,” noting the item’s long residence on tracking lists and asking whether the city can advance the work. Speaker 4 said they were unaware the city had a graffiti abatement program and asked staff to clarify the program’s scope and options, including the idea of installing dedicated graffiti spaces in partnership with a nonprofit. Speaker 1 asked whether the council could “put some guardrails on that.”

The executive team, represented in discussion by Speaker 3 and Speaker 1, indicated the city could move faster than the previously stated five-year timeline; Speaker 3 said the team thought it could be completed “sooner than 5 years,” and Speaker 4 suggested it could be done within the next two years.

Council members pressed for specific follow-up steps: clarifying what the existing program does, whether it includes enforcement or cleanup authority, what funding or nonprofit partners would be required, and whether a pilot of dedicated graffiti spaces would be feasible. No formal motion or vote was recorded on the item during the session.

The council did not set a firm date for a staff report but several members volunteered to follow up and asked staff to place the item higher on future agendas. The exchange concluded with a request for staff to provide clarifying details about program authority, timeline and potential partners.