GALLERY: Homeless camp cleanup efforts have cost City of Abilene $100,000

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Homeless camp cleanup efforts have cost the City of Abilene nearly $100,000.

More than 6 different locations have been cleaned by the City in 2024 and 2025 after the Abilene Police Department received 3,300 calls for service related to homelessness in 2024.

City staff works to disperse encampments at the center of these complaints, which causes homeless individuals to move to other known locations around Abilene.

Cleanup efforts also take hours, if not days, to complete and cost the City time, money and resources to get rid of property, rubbish, and waste left behind.

The following encampments have been cleared so far in 2024 and 2025, costing the City of Abilene a total of ,500:

• Elm Creek (2024) – ,500
• Hwy 80 (2024/2025) – ,000
• Proctor (2025) – ,000 (ongoing)
• ES 11^th Property (2024) – ,000
• City property behind S Walmart (2024) – ,000
• Other cleanups (2024/2025) – ,000.

,500 of the cleanup costs went toward labor, equipment, and material, and ,000 went toward admin costs.

No trespassing/no camping signs are posted following cleanup efforts if the camps were on City property.