This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on June 28, 2009.

Graffiti doesn't only deface the side of a building or wall. It's an eyesore that devalues property and, if allowed to linger for days, broadcasts a message that the community has given up, that the gang thugs and roaming taggers have won. This is a battle communities in Central Washington cannot shrink from or lose resolve.

However, while the recent decision by the Yakima City Council to diminish its assault on graffiti may make sense on an accountant's spreadsheet, it also raises a serious concern about finding a balance between municipal and private property owners' responsibilities. Volunteers engaged by the city cannot win this fight alone.

There's no question the scourge of graffiti is a costly one. More than $12 billion each year is spent by communities across the nation to battle it. Gang graffiti is one element of the problem. However, gangs tend to mark their territory in specific neighborhoods.

In most cities, the principal culprits are taggers who sign their graffiti as a way to gain notoriety. And it follows, the more signed graffiti in a community, the greater the fame for the tagger.

Some taggers have recently started to act like gang members themselves, lugging around weapons for protection against other taggers and gangs. Thus, the situation spirals further out of control.

Fighting graffiti takes vigilance and swift action. When a gang member or a tagger strikes, cities and property owners need to react in like manner, taking cleaning solutions and paintbrushes to the offending graffiti and wiping it out. The sooner that happens, the better.

Of course, communities can get overwhelmed by spikes in graffiti and their resolve may weaken. That appears to be the case for the city of Yakima. Earlier this month, the City Council ended a program that painted over graffiti on private property for free. Volunteers said they couldn't keep up with the demand.

Instead, a private property owner will receive a cleanup kit that contains a spray bottle with a pint of chemical remover that removes the graffiti without damaging the paint underneath. It also comes with steel wool and a high-pressure nozzle to wash the solvent off. The kit is free, but it's good for one time only. After that, the owner has to pay for the material.

The city will continue to battle graffiti along alleys and public infrastructure, and will still provide free paint and brushes to property owners. All they have to do is ask.

The real question is this: Will private property owners step forward and take responsibility for wiping out the graffiti? That simply has to happen. We are all in this battle together. There are no free rides or, in this case, free "paint overs." Each resident needs to roll up his or her sleeves and join in the fight. Graffiti needs to be dealt with the next day, not the next month. If left alone, it will only fester and breed more graffiti. Taggers will be emboldened. We cannot let this happen.

Painting over graffiti is mandatory. So are block watches and good outdoor lighting to dissuade late-night taggers from leaving their mark. Neighbors need to help others down the block to clear the area of all graffiti. This is the time to pull together, not fall apart.

The city may have contributed to the problem, though, by turning a blind eye to graffiti on private property. Sometimes a stick helps to get the message across. For more than five years, the city has had on its books an ordinance that carries a $400 fine for property owners who fail to clean up graffiti. But it hasn't been enforced.

Of 1,241 complaints about graffiti that were filed with the city's code enforcement department from 2003 to 2007, only one citation was issued to a property owner who refused to clean up.

What kind of message does that send? Private property owners must take action, too. If we take pride in our community, we must demonstrate that each day, not when it's convenient.

Wiping out graffiti is never convenient, but it's a visible way of telling taggers and gang members this simple message: You're no longer welcome here.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.