A mural of a mermaid is on the outside of a hair salon in downtown Weslaco.

Angel’s Touch Hair Salon owner Martha Nuñez says the mermaid was painted over the graffiti that her building was previously vandalized with.

“I want to show that kid I’m going to cover his graffiti with another picture,” Nuñez said.

Weslaco resident Juan Guerrero says he often shops at Texas Boulevard in Weslaco, and has noticed an increase in graffiti.

“It's terrible, this is a nice little area, a lot of antiques shops — I love coming down here and spending time, but then you start seeing some of the graffiti, and it just kinda sucks,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero added that he feels it's a waste of money for the city to clean up the damages.

“As a taxpayer, it sucks for it to just be thrown away like that," Guerrero said. “There are better ways to spend the money."

Weslaco’s public works department says it's not just the downtown area being affected by the graffiti.

“More recently on traffic boxes, the controllers, traffic polls, some of our trash cans, we've been getting tagged with some of their names or whatever they put on there,” Weslaco Public Works Director David Arce said.

Arce said people have been spray-painting schools too, and all the spray paint costs the city money and manpower.  

“We don't have a dedicated staff to graffiti cover up or anything," Arce said. “It's the same staff that's going to be filling potholes or cutting grass or whatever they may be doing that day. So if we're trying to pull from that, it's taking away from our daily operation."

The Weslaco Police Department said they are aware of the problem and are investigating.

The penalty for violating Texas graffiti laws in Texas can range from a fine of up to $10,000, and up to life in prison depending on the damage.

Those wanting to report graffiti or have any information on the investigations are urged to call the Weslaco Police Department at 956-968-8591.

Watch the video above for the full story.