The Omaha City Council gave first round approval Tuesday to a proposal requiring property owners to clean up graffiti. If it's not done within 10 days, the city will do it and bill the homeowner or business owner.

The council is also looking at giving themselves and the mayor a three percent raise each year. For the mayor that means a salary of $98,061 in 2009 and almost $114,000 by 2014.

City Council members would make $32,243 next year and $37,378 by 2014.

The issues will be up for a public hearing September 9th.

South Omaha is one of the city's most historic areas, but it also has a side that's a little unsightly. Graffiti has long been a problem in the neighborhood. It was either covered over by property owners or by the city's graffiti van at no cost.

City Councilman Chuck Sigerson says that needs to change. "Why should I, why should you and why should anyone else have to pay for the cleaning of the grafitti on some landlord's house or some apartment owner's buildings? Certainly that's within the realm of personal responsibility."

"Vandalism and graffiti can lead to more grafitti so we can't leave it there forever," says Sigerson. "So what we're saying is hey, if you don't want to do it or can't do it we'll still do it for you, but we're going to charge you for it."

"We got hit in the front," says businessman Irwin Nelson, whose business was hit recently. He's never called the city to remove graffiti. Still, he doesn't like the proposal. "It's just another way the city is trying to put everything back on the people and not do anything else."

Nelson says the problem is more deep-rooted and another way would get results. "Why do not the police get involved and try to stop some of these people? The same buildings get hit time after time. You can't tell me that they can't find out who's doing it."

Jonathan Rich's business is a constant target. He says if the ordinance eventually passes, there's not much choice. "If the ordinance is that it's going to be $70 every time we'll do what we did before we got the van, we'll get some paint and we'll paint it ourselves."

Sigerson says it costs the city hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in materials, gas and personnel. He hopes that another van could be purchased through funds gathered by using the current van.