From City Hall Plaza to Faneuil Hall – this department makes sure they keep functioning day in and day out. But while you might be familiar with Property Management’s responsibility for managing, maintaining, and securing the City’s municipal buildings, there are three lesser-known programs also under the Department’s control.
THE STREET FURNITURE PROGRAM
Ever walk by one of the self-cleaning toilets on the street and ask how it got there? In 1999, Mayor Menino attended a National Mayor’s conference in San Francisco, while at this conference he noticed on the street of SF phone pillars, newsstands, automatic public toilets and bus shelters. Mayor Menino formed a working group to research and create a request for proposal to bring the Coordinated Street Furniture concept to the City of Boston. The Wall family from Germany won the bid. Since the first installation of a city informational map panel on City Hall Plaza, 470 street furniture items have been installed in the sidewalks of Boston.
This may come as a surprise, but all the street furniture elements are designed, manufactured, installed, and maintained at no cost to the taxpayer. Additionally, the revenue generated from the advertisements on the street furniture is split between the parent company and the City. In 2001, the first year of ad sales brought in $3,957. In 2012, the program generated $2.6 million. Over the course of the 12-year program a total of $16.7 million was generated for the City. It’s revenue for the city, but it’s also an amenity to visitors and residents that would be difficult to provide otherwise.
As part of this partnership, each year hundreds of public service advertisements are posted at the value of between $2-4 million, all at no cost to the City. The Street Furniture contract with the City of Boston runs until 2026. It’s one of only a few City contracts that will continue past the next few election cycles.
ANIMAL CONTROL, SHELTER, AND ADOPTION
24 hours - 7 day a week, the Animal Control officers travel over 100,000 miles and respond to over 3,500 complaints each year in Boston. Officers enforce legal ordinances, respond to incidents, and investigate cases of abuse. Not just responsible for wild turkeys flying into porch windows or a possum stuck in a waste bin, but they also license 10,000 dogs each year in Boston, a service which can preclude an unnecessary treatment for rabies after one of the 300 dog bites that occurs annually.
The City of Boston operates its own Animal Shelter & Adoption Center in Roslindale with a full time contracted veterinarian, four staff, and large number of volunteers. All stray dogs that are found within the City of Boston are housed at this Shelter. Around 1,500 stray dogs and cats come through the shelter each year. Every pet placed for adoption is vaccinated and spay/neutered. These aren’t the only animals in the custody of the City, the swans in the Public Garden are also cared for by Animal Control.
In the past two years, there have been updates on the animal control software and the construction of a new surgery suite. This year we began licensing dogs at the City Hall To Go Truck and distributing emergency Pet Go-Packs.
GRAFFITI BUSTERS
The graffiti removal program began in the fall of 1995, and has evolved into a comprehensive year-long approach to identifying and removing graffiti on public and private property throughout the city. Requests for removal are fielded through the Mayor’s hotline or the Citizens Connect App, then Property Management field staff inspects the property, mail a waiver form to private owners, and place properties on a list for action. Currently there is a four-person crew and a field supervisor who tackle removing profanity and tags from all types of surfaces.
Over the years, the graffiti team learned to expect some decline in repeat activity, especially if it is addressed in a rapid manner. The graffiti tag artists work in specific areas and thrive on the fact the recognition of their signature. Without the signature visible, their status declines in the graffiti community and they either move on or drop out altogether. Allston, Back Bay, Brighton, and Jamaica Plain see the most responses by Graffiti Busters, but they do work in every neighborhood of the city. With an annual budget of $400,000, the Graffiti Busters have removed tags from over 22,000 locations throughout the City since it began.