Graffiti artists will have to pay a stiff price if they want to paint the town red.

Unlike many other metro-east towns, Collinsville Police get a graffiti call at least once or twice a week. And unlike those towns, Collinsville has just enacted a graffiti ordinance that provides for a fine, holds parents responsible and forbids minors to have graffiti materials in public places.

"We see graffiti," Interim Police Chief Bill Pierce said. "It's not uncommon anymore to see it on fences and viaducts, but it's not at the point where it's not viable to stop it."

Collinsville's new ordinance makes graffiti a misdemeanor with a fine up to $1,000, plus community service to be performed in graffiti cleanup. Parents are to be personally responsible for all costs to the property owner and to the city -- up to $1,000 per violation.

"A lot of the problem with graffiti is that it spawns more graffiti," Pierce said. "Instead of 10 feet of a wall painted with it, you'll have the rest of the wall painted with it."

Also, people under age 18 may not have paint cans, etching tools, permanent markers, paint sticks or similar items on public areas, including schools and libraries.

Pierce said the ordinance isn't meant to prohibit students using a marker on their homework.

"But if it's 2 a.m. and they're on the library grounds with a can of paint, we can do something about it," he said.

The ordinance comes from a model he found in California, Pierce said. He took out provisions that would have required merchants to obtain a parent's note before selling paint to a minor.

"We thought that a little too burdensome, especially to the merchants, to have to do that at this point," Pierce said.

Most other metro-east towns relegate graffiti to code violations and building inspectors. If they catch a graffiti artist at work, he can be charged with criminal damage to property.

"It hasn't been a tremendous problem for us, but it'll crop up once in a while," Edwardsville Police chief Dave Bopp said.

Belleville has wrestled with graffiti in the past, but other than a spray-painted vacant building earlier this month, it hasn't been a problem lately, according to Parks and Recreation Director Gary Hopfinger.

"Some of these kids are very talented in what they can do," Pierce said. "But it's not conducive to enhancing property values. The purpose is to have a tool to eliminate it."

Troy Police Chief Bill Brown said it had been about five years since their last graffiti call -- spray-painting on some buildings in a park.

"Of course, now that I've said that, we'll probably get some," Brown said.

Fairview Heights Police Lt. Gary Lightfoot said his department also runs into problems only in the park, and that hasn't been for some time.

"We have been blessed," SIUE facilities manager Bob Washburn said. "Graffiti is not an issue on this campus. We had a graffiti artist on campus last year, and we finally put out a bounty on his head.... I think he figured out they were on to him, and he stopped."

A major part of the Collinsville ordinance is a requirement for property owners to remove the graffiti within 30 days. Edwardsville has the same provision. If the property owner does not remove it or can't afford to fix it, the city can fix it and bill the property owner, who can then bill the graffiti artist -- if he's been caught.

Although Pierce said no particular instance led to the ordinance, a group of teenagers caused nearly $20,000 worth of vandalism to a remodeled house in March. Four teens allegedly spraypainted gang symbols from the basement to the second floor and left empty beer cans and drug paraphernalia strewn throughout the vacant house.

All four were charged with burglary and are facing possible prison terms if convicted.