Wagga City Council has been forced to spend more than $200,000 of ratepayers money in the past five financial years in a bid to keep its graffiti woes at a manageable level.

The council spent $33,477.79 on tidying up streets riddled with graffiti in the 2018-19 financial year alone.

And so far during this financial year, the council has received 54 requests - and counting - to clean up graffiti, totaling $10,339.76.

Wagga councillor Yvonne Braid will be leading the charge against graffiti on Sunday as part of a state-wide clean up day where community groups and volunteers will band together to help remove graffiti from sites throughout the city.

Despite the effort volunteers are set to put in this weekend, Cr Braid said the hard work could easily be undone.

"We want to get as much as we can get done, and what we can't do we will continue through the year so people understand that we aren't going to give up," she said.

Cr Braid said the council needs to take an active approach to stop people from defacing public property. Her solution is installing more street lights throughout the city.

She said brightly lit streets could deter people from any illegal activities.

"I would like to see more lights around the city - and it not only fixes our graffiti problem, but makes it safer for young people who are scared of walking around the city," she said.

"(Poor street lights) are a problem throughout Wagga. We need to continuously advocate for its improvement and it will show people that we're out there looking for them if they're doing the wrong thing."

Cr Braid said it was important the community takes pride in its city by taking action against graffiti and reporting areas where signs and buildings have been defaced.

"It gives the wrong impression of Wagga ... and it's not what we're about," she said.