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Police say vandalism is not out of control, but it is hurting ratepayers
Written by EBONY D'ARCY.
BRIGHT police have downplayed the amount of vandalism in the town, after Alpine Shire Council last week slammed vandals for wasting ratepayers’ money.
Council had hit out at vandals for causing $5000 worth of damage to a toilet block at Howitt Park.
Vandalism across the shire racks up repair bills of some $50,000 a year, much of which is centred in Bright and Myrtleford.
But Senior Constable Mick Guiney of Bright police said the amount of vandalism in Bright was not out of control.
"Every town across the shire has to deal with it, it’s not a huge problem here," he said.
"We do see an increase in this sort of behavior over the summer months, but even then not too much of it."
Sen Const Guiney said local vandals needed to be aware damage they caused would come back on their family.
"If kids want to go out and damage property, they need to understand that’s coming back to their family who have to pay for that damage through their rates," he said.
"At the end of the day council has a bill to pay and that comes back to the ratepayers."
Bright and District Ratepayers Association secretary, Derek Butler, said the added cost for locals was "disappointing".
"That’s money that could be much better spent elsewhere," he said.
"The toilets being vandalised or poorly treated are obviously a bit of an issue, not only for locals but also as tourism infrastructure.
"We have quite a few elderly people and bus groups stopping at that park and if the toilet is out of order they’re not in the position to walk too far to find another one.
"Another problem is damage to signs - some people think it’s cool to bend them or paint over them."
Mr Butler said while vandalism wasn’t rife in the town, it did have an impact on the local community and visitors.
"It is extremely disappointing that someone would behave like that," he said.
"While it doesn’t happen frequently, there’s also the occasional issue with the playground or rubbish bins being set alight.
"It’s not a lot of fun for local CFA volunteers to have to get up in the middle of the night to put out a bin fire that’s been deliberately lit."
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