CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Getting graffiti cleaned up across town just got easier.
That's because technology is changing the way the city responds to tagging on the sides of businesses, bus stops and fences.
The City of Corpus Christi's mobile app "My City" can be used to report it.
"Again it's a great reference at your fingertips," Corpus Christi Assistant Director of Communications Tracey Cantu said. "Everybody has a mobile device, so we want to make things as convenient as we can."
According to the city's Solid Waste Department, the city cleaned up 506 locations from October to December.
Last year they cleaned up almost 4,500 locations for the entire year.
"It's a little more than a 100 each month so far," Cantu said. "But comparatively, so that's where we were last year."
City officials are encouraging people to use the app to report issues.
"It is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store," Cantu said. "You just go in and download it. It's free."
All you have to do is make sure you have the city's app on your phone, click "New Request" and scroll down to the "graffiti" tab. Then enter the location and/or business, snap a pic and submit. The city will then contact the owner's for
consent to clean up the paint if it's not public property.
"Then that information gets processed by our customer call center, and a work order is issued and that is linked up with our Solid Waste Department that has the Graffiti Removal Team, who will respond to that issues and that care of it," she said.
The Graffiti Removal Team goes out Monday through Friday, fulfilling work orders and looking for graffiti across town. There are four employees and two clean up trucks.
Paul Bass -- the city's solid waste assistant director of support services -- said the city has had the clean up team since 2006. It costs the city $280,000 a year.
If people see graffiti in progress they are asked to call the police department's non-emergency number at (361) 886-2600.
The graffiti removal service is free.