As the Newcastle Herald reported at the weekend, Mr McCloy said he had spoken a number of times with Mr Bath about the amount of CBD graffiti and organised the working bee after the council had "done nothing" in response.

Mr Bath said what Mr McCloy wanted would mean ratepayers funds being used to subsidise the maintenance of private property, including the former post office owned by Sydney developer Jerry Schwartz, whose wealth was estimated at $500 million.

IN THE NEWS:

He said the council may have been able to "work alongside Mr McCloy had we received more than half a day's notice.

He said that on Mr McCloy's logic, the next thing would be "mowing the lawns of those who can't be bothered, or painting the fences of run-down properties".

Despite the enmity between Mr McCloy and the council, the 100-plus participants over the two days took to the job with enthusiasm and the Newcastle Knights in particular - easily identifiable to pedestrians and passing motorists - drew regular horn toots and words of thanks from passers-by.

Other participants included the Wildfires and Pacifika rugby teams, surf life saving volunteers, Soul Cafe, Dolphin Power Cleaning, MVP Painting, Stan Painting, Soul Cafe, while Haymes paints donated all of the paints and related supplies.

Learning of the clean-up, former Newcastle councillor Bob Cook (2008 to 2012) recalled that former council general manager Lindy Hyam had introduced a dedicated graffiti clean-up squad, with a truck, in 2010.

Ms Hyam confirmed this, saying the three-person "rapid response" team worked from the council's Waratah depot and removed graffiti as quickly as possible, which helped discourage the practice, she believed successfully.

When the Herald reported this online on Saturday, Mr Bath responded by saying the team was still in place and that the council was spending $1 million on anti-graffiti measures, which was $200,000 more than when Mr McCloy resigned as lord mayor in 2014.

"The graffiti removal team carry out targeted routine and reactive maintenance every day and monitor the city's hot spots on a weekly basis," Mr Bath said.

"This approach has resulted in the number of requests from the general public regarding graffiti on council properties falling by more than 50 per cent over the past three years."

Mr Bath also referred the Herald to a program announced last November with Juvenile Justice NSW, where property owners could contact the council and supervised young offenders on community service orders would be sent to remove graffiti.

Mr McCloy said that if the council was spending $1 million a year on graffiti it had "precious little to show for it", as shown by the number of sites targeted at the weekend and the paint, including light rail construction markings, still on footpaths, which were a council responsibility.

"If the numbers of requests are falling, as Mr Bath says, then it could equally be that the public doesn't trust the program or thinks there is no use ringing or filling out the form because nothing will happen," Mr McCloy said.

"And as for council spending money on private property, it can only help restore confidence in the city, bring more people in, lifting parking meter revenue and property values, which flow into rates.

"And they might like to look at Melbourne, where Lord Mayor Sally Capp has just announced that cleaning up all the graffiti - she calls them criminals - is a core priority!"

Mr McCloy said there was nothing "political" behind the cleanup, simply civic pride and "a love of this city".

He said it was the same ethos that has led him to have McCloy Group install sculptures and "entrance statements" into its residential developments, and to help artist and organiser Sally Bourke fund the Hit The Bricks street-art festival, which ran in Newcastle in 2013 and 2014.

McCloy Group development officer Rylan Gibson, one of the co-ordinators of the weekend's work, said the cleanup removed "hundreds" of graffiti tags from the city.

He said Dolphin Power Cleaning had chemically removed at least 50 tags from footpath wiring boxes and another 20 from shop windows.

Asked whether he was effectively taking the law into his own hands in organising the cleanup, Mr McCloy said "the community support is enough".

HAVING A SPRAY:

"The council had the powers to do it," he said, referring to Part 4 of the Graffiti Control Act 2008 that says "a local council may, without the agreement of the owner or occupier of any land, carry out graffiti removal work to property on that land if the graffiti concerned is visible from a public place.

"So they had the power and legal right to do it but didn't so they say because of cost!

"I didn't lift a paint brush, hundreds of volunteers did and were proud of it! "

Mr McCloy said the council's workforce had gone from about 900 during his term to 1300 now, and the council was still unable to keep the city looking tidy.

OFFICIAL CITY OF NEWCASTLE STATEMENT ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON

"City of Newcastle funds a dedicated graffiti removal team at a cost of $1 million annually. This is $200,000 more than when Mr McCloy resigned as Lord Mayor in 2014.

"The graffiti removal team carry out targeted routine and reactive maintenance every day and monitor the city's hot spots on a weekly basis. This approach has resulted in the number of requests from the general public regarding graffiti on Council properties falling by more than 50 per cent over the past three years.

"In addition to our direct rapid response team, there are numerous elements to how City of Newcastle manages graffiti including working with the Youth Justice NSW Community Service Order Program, support for community groups running clean ups (including Rotary Clubs), support for public street art and murals, community outreach and engagement (including via organisations such as Up & Up).

"City of Newcastle welcomes the involvement of private property owners and the development community to remove graffiti, particularly through maintaining their privately owned buildings. This allows the City's resources to go further and to focus on maintaining the public domain.

"It is positive that property owners are recognising the direct and indirect value of maintaining both private property and the public domain. City of Newcastle is always interested in working closely with local business to provide better outcomes for ratepayers. The event that Mr McCloy had been planning for weeks may have been an opportunity for City of Newcastle to work alongside Mr McCloy had we received more than half a day's notice of the event.

"Mr McCloy appears to believe that ratepayers should fund the cleaning of privately owned buildings in the CBD including the former Newcastle Post Office, which was part of the cleaning event on Saturday. It's worth noting that this building is owned by a person whose wealth is estimated to be approximately half a billion dollars. City of Newcastle holds the view that ratepayers should be cleaning publicly owned buildings while building owners should be paying the cost of cleaning their own properties.

"Residents can report graffiti by calling 4974 2000, via email or the City of Newcastle App. If it relates to property owned by the City, our dedicated graffiti team will remove it. If the graffiti is on private property, the work will likely be undertaken by young people working with the Department of Community Justice. Of course the majority of commercial building owners simply organise to remove graffiti from their building themselves as they should."

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