Figures released by the Dunedin City Council's property unit and parks and reserves department show the cost of removing graffiti, and repairing intentional damage to fittings and services, and fire damage had equated to about $37,400.
Dunedin City Council property unit asset manager John Varney said damage caused by graffiti to property unit public toilets alone had cost about $15,000 to clean up.
''They get a hard time,'' he said.
Examples of more serious damage included setting fire to the sanitary bins and, in one case, smashing everything inside a toilet with a sledgehammer.
''It was totally smashed internally. But that was a one-off.''
City Property maintained 35 public toilets at 24 sites around Dunedin, and regular cleaning and provisioning of consumables cost about $85,000 a year, he said.
Parks and reserves have a further 51 sites with public toilets at parks, sports fields and sporting complexes.
DCC parks manager Lisa Wheeler said during the past financial year, there had been 23 instances of damage to toilets on reserves, which had cost the department about $5400 to repair.
The damage had been lighter than in previous years, and ranged from blocked toilets and broken toilet seats to broken locks and faeces smeared on parts of the facilities, he said.
''It is a nuisance.
''We've all had to use a public toilet at some stage, and there's nothing more annoying to find you can't use it because someone's burnt the toilet seat.''
Mr Varney believed graffiti damage costs were on the rise, while the cost of intentional damage, including intentionally-lit fires, was similar or slightly lower than in previous years.
The damage appeared to be spread at random around the central city area and suburbs, but toilets in the CBD typically had higher usage and, as a result, more damage.
''[The damage] is very irritating.
''Money could be better spent on providing new facilities rather than repairing damage to existing facilities,'' Mr Varney said.
The funding which was being used to make repairs could be used to install more toilets or upgrade old toilets, which would provide newer, more user-friendly surroundings which were more hygienic and easier to clean.
