(The Center Square) – The proposed Seattle bill to combat ongoing illegal graffiti across the city has been amended to increase the fine to a maximum of $1,500 per violation.

Proposed Council Bill 120995 originally set fines at $1,000, but Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka successfully had the fine increased through an amendment approved by a 2-0 vote with two abstentions. Saka proposed to raise the fines as a result of city data showing that a good number of taggers in the city are adults – some with careers of their own – rather than teenagers.

“We learned from the demographics analysis presented from the City Attorney’s Office that some of the most prolific violators [are] at least not struggling and we need to make this hurt for them financially,” Saka said during a Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Some Seattle graffiti taggers have grown confident in their work by posting them on social media sites. This includes one prolific tagger who goes by “WESH”, who uses the Instagram handle “@standardcriminal.”

Due to Seattle’s $20.76 minimum wage, the $1,500 fine equates to approximately 75 hours of community service that violators could serve instead.

If passed, the fine would be very similar to other civil action, with a defendant being notified and having the opportunity to hire a defense counsel or defend themselves against the city’s accusations that the graffiti was caused by them. If the case goes to the city municipal court, it would be by court order that the penalty be levied against the tagger.

If a tagger is able to show they are suffering from financial hardship, they could request they serve community service instead.

Seattle City Council Chair Sara Nelson has continued to note that graffiti is the single most common complaint she receives from constituents across the city.

According to Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison’s office, there were a reported 28,816 instances of graffiti vandalism in Seattle that resulted in the city spending approximately $6 million in tax dollars annually on graffiti cleanup.

The Public Safety Committee gave a do-pass recommendation to the proposal and it will now face a final city council vote during the July 15 meeting.