Modesto credits Measure H-funded crews as monthly blight removals rise

Modesto officials say a voter-approved Measure H tax has enabled a full-time blight-abatement program that combines equipment, enforcement and community partnerships to clear large volumes of illegally dumped material.

"That team is 100% Measure H funded," said Colton Pacheco, solid waste code enforcement supervisor for the City of Modesto, describing BAT (blight abatement team) crews that operate with a grapple truck and support trucks and trailers. Pacheco said the teams used to remove "maybe 30,000–40,000 pounds of blight a month" and have removed "over 120,000 pounds a month" since December of 2025.

Deputy City Manager Allison Van Gilder said the strategy is cross-departmental: police focus on encampments while solid-waste BAT crews address right-of-way blight. She said regular interdepartmental meetings and shared data help the city identify problem sites and respond faster. "If you see something, say something," Van Gilder said, urging staff and residents to report problems through the Go Modesto app.

Officials emphasized that the approach pairs removal with outreach. Pacheco described the BAT grapple truck and two-person teams that can lift heavy items such as appliances; in alleys and constrained locations, staff dispatch a truck and trailer. The city also reported partnering with police for camera placement to identify responsible parties in repeat-dump locations.

The officials framed Measure H as the funding backbone for extending staff capacity and equipment. The next steps, they said, are to continue tracking trends and refining where crews are dispatched. The city did not provide an independent audit of the removal figures; the numbers reported in the podcast are those given by staff.