Anyone caught vandalizing a building in New Orleans will now face a higher fine.
The City Council on June 26 voted to increase the fine for graffiti from $100 to between $500 and $1,000.
Existing penalties under city law include community service and an offender paying for graffiti removal. Those were not changed.
Councilman Eugene Green, who authored the ordinance to increase the fine, said that was due to increased concerns from the public about graffiti.
He said graffiti contributes to blight, decreases property values and costs the city and private property owners “thousands of dollars in clean-up and restoration costs” if the person responsible for it cannot be found.
“If you write on somebody else’s building without their permission, you have committed vandalism,” Green said. “That is not art.”
The ordinance awaits Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s signature.
