COUNCIL AGENDA

ITEM

05/03/16
5.1 & 7.1

CITY OF

Memorandum

SAN TOSE
CAPITAL OF SILICON VALLEY

TO:

CITY COUNCIL

FROM:

Mayor Sam Liccardo

Vice Mayor Rose Herrera
Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco
Councilmember Johnny Khamis
Councilmember Raul Peralez

SUBJECT:

2014-2015 ANNUAL REPORT

ON THE ANTI-GRAFFITI
AND ANTI-LITTER
PROGRAMS & ILLEGAL
DUMPING
INITIATIVE UPDATE
^2

DATE:

April 29, 2016

APPROVED:

RECOMMENDATION
1. Accept the Status Report on the City's Illegal Dumping Mitigation Effort, and the 2014
2015 Annual Report on the Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Litter programs.
2. Direct the City Attorney and City Manager to report back to Council through the 2016-17
Budget Process to:
a. Determine whether Council can use Integrated Waste Management Fund or other
sources for supplemental use in staffing and response to illegal dumping and litter issues,
particularly for coordination of volunteer efforts, and offer cost estimates and options;
b. Determine the cost and process for implementing the development of an antigraffiti/anti-illegal dumping reward program that will pay up to $1,000 for each tip that
leads to arrests or fines levied against graffiti vandals and those caught dumping illegally
within the City of San Jose.
3. Regarding illegal dumping, direct the City Manager to report back to the City Council as
part of the 2016-17 Budget Process, through a Manager's Budget Addendum, or where more
time is needed, return to the Transportation and Environment Committee and Neighborhoods
Commission in the Fall with the following:
a. Explore alternatives for the time and day of the pro-active pick-ups in targeted illegal
dumping focus areas;
b. Identify costs and potential funding sources for a second compactor truck and for a driver
to increase efficiencies with large scale illegal dumping clean ups;
c. Explore additional services to handle illegally dumped bio-waste as a resource available
to all departments;

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ITEM: 5.1 & 7.1

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d. Explore opportunities to work with external partners of the City Manager's Data
Analytics Team and of the Mayor's Office of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation to
leverage behavioral insights to reduce illegal dumping; and
e. Assess and report progress through the development of metrics that specifically capture
direct impact, and not merely work performed.
4. Regarding graffiti, direct the City Manager to report back to the City Council as part of the
2016-17 Budget Process, through a Manager's Budget Addendum, or where more time is
needed, return to the Public Safety Finance & Strategic Support Committee and
Neighborhoods Commission in the Fall with the following:
a. Determine whether the City Manager can execute a "shared data" agreement with
Graffiti Protective Coatings (GPC) to enable reports of graffiti on businesses and private
property to simultaneously flow to the tip submit line with SJPD and to Code
Enforcement;
b. Assess the cost of restoring the City's prior commitment to address graffiti complaints
within 48 hours, and how that might affect the response metrics on page 9 of the Staff
report;
c. Assess and report progress through the development of metrics that specifically capture
direct impact, and not merely work performed.

DISCUSSION
We commend the teams of City staff, San Jose State University students and staff, maintenance staff
and Neighborhood Commission volunteers that have been collaborating on ideas and methods for
responding to illegal dumping and graffiti in our City, and for their thoughtful and innovative work
in helping increase efficiencies and response times to blight in our community.
We continue to hear frequent complaints about illegal dumping in our City. It is the #1 work plan
item for the Neighborhoods Commission, and was listed as one of the top five issues in the 2016
Community Budget Priority Setting exercises, with 60% of residents requesting an increase in
funding to combat illegal dumping.
Rewards for tips
In 2013 and 2014, the Office of Councilmember Khamis began discussing a reward program
targeting graffiti vandalism and copper wire theft. They had identified Silicon Valley Crime
Stoppers to administer the program, and kept the SJPD and CHP up-to-date on their efforts.
Unfortunately, an agreement could not be put to the local Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers board
members for approval. That being said, Crime Stoppers should still be involved in discussions in
case the opportunity arises for a partnership with them. We now propose that the City take the idea,
modify it to cover graffiti vandalism and illegal dumping (instead of copper wire theft), and look
for ways to administer the program. With a reward program that leads to the capture and recovery
of costs from graffiti vandals and those who are dumping illegally, we can make catching these
vandals worthwhile for everyone.

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ITEM: 5.1 & 7.1

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Staffing and Equipment
We have only two people and one "over strength" position to respond to service requests Citywide.
Other municipalities in California utilize storm water and integrated waste management fees/funds
for supplemental staffing to respond to illegal dumping. The City Manager and City Attorney
should analyze the use of these or other funds to restore some staffing levels so that our Departments
can improve our responsiveness to our community.
The inter-department teams responding to illegal dumping need an additional compactor vehicle, as
the single compactor in the City fleet requires frequent repairs. For nearly half the yearor more
than 180 aggregate days in 2014-2015it remained out of service. Staff in the field note that a
compactor helps with illegal dumping pick-ups and in large scale clean-ups, such as creek clean
ups. Teams can cover up to four times times more area with a compactor before emptying a vehicle.
Resources to handle bio-waste
We hear increasing complaints of the illegal dumping of bio-waste in parking lots, on side streets,
in parks and along creek trails. Our residents and business owners are calling, often very frustrated
that there isn't a single number to call or a single department responsible that handles this type of
illegally dumped item. Our line staff lacks the equipment and/ or training to handle these types of
illegally dumped bio-hazards. Some business owners along the Monterey Road /1st Street, and Santa
Clara Street / Alum Rock Avenue corridors report that it can easily cost over $1,000 per incident to
have a third party handle the bio-waste. Having a coordinated effort to quickly and rapidly remove
"honey buckets" and other illegally dumped bio-waste will help maintain our quality of life and will
help protect the health and safety of our employees.
Pro-active services based on more data
Through the partnership with Trimble Navigation and CommUniverCity, San Jose has demonstrated
how rapid prototyping and partnerships can leverage data to change our service delivery models.
The collaborative work produced a data set focused on locations that allowed us to develop pro
active routes for our haulers to pick up illegally dumped items. Constituents in the three target areas
appreciate the improved service, but also note that a significant amount of illegal dumping occurs
over the weekend, especially on the first Sunday of each month, after many tenants tend to move-in
or move-out. DOT, ESD and other programs should track data and consider recurrences in location
as well as the day and time of the month so that we can direct our haulers to be more efficient in
their staffing levels for proactive sweeps with an eye towards service day as well as peak locations.
Behavior Change
The City Manager's Data Analytics Team is working with the Behavioral Insights Team as part of
the City's participation in Bloomberg Philanthropies' "What Works Cities" Initiative, to develop an
outreach strategy for encouraging use of free large-item collection services for Single-Family
Dwellings. We expect results from the study by August 2016, that will inform the design of future,
city-wide messaging for free large-item collection hauling services.
We appreciate all the innovation and collaboration happening between Departments, SJSU,
Neighborhoods Commission, and volunteers. We have begun to move the needle on this vexing
problem, and have seen promising results. More work awaits us.