VANDALISM acts and the clean-up costs waste money that could be spent giving Dubbo residents and children better or new attractions.
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Instead, up to $70,000 a year is spent cleaning up graffiti. The vandalism attack on the Victoria Park precinct this week will have a $10,000 clean up bill.
Dubbo City Council prepared to add the sum to all vandalism costs that had already reached more than $24,700 from July 1 to September 30.
In the previous financial year vandalism had snatched more than $70,400 from the public purse, the council reported this month.
The council began a clean-up at the Family Day Care Centre, Dubbo Skate Park and a toilet block in Victoria Park on Wednesday.
As Kathleen Oke inspected the damage she regretted the expense added to the budget, set in June for the new financial year.
Ms Oke, the council's community participation facilitator, said the latest strike was "disheartening".
"The fact that (more than $70,000) a year is wasted on cleaning up graffiti when we could be putting that into so much more," she said.
The council has for some years offered a reward of $2500 for information leading to a conviction of anyone committing wilful damage to or theft of council property or equipment but it has never been paid out.
Ms Oke urged everyone in the community to play there part in stopping vandalism by reporting anything suspicious to the council or police. Vandals have targeted the skate park with spray paint twice in two weeks. The first strike cost $3500 to remove.
Vandalism cost the city more than $137,400 in 2008-2009 before steadily declining to more than $67,400 in 2011-2012.
It increased again the next year, and the parks and landcare division again sustained the greatest proportion of the costs.
