“I wonder how that would look for folks from out of town,” Haltom said. “I’ve never seen those signs in other cities.”

Haltom said the signs may have an educational aspect, helping the public to understand that panhandling is generally negative for a community.

“I personally believe that giving to panhandlers really is, more than likely, not a good thing,” he said. “It would be much better if people would give to agencies to help.”

While not all panhandling or panhandlers are a negative to the community, Haltom said, giving to panhandlers largely contributes to substance abuse.

Haltom said the signs do not represent the law and do not prohibit someone from giving to a panhandler.

“If someone wants to give, they are going to give it to them,” Haltom said.

Tom Baker, manager of the Downtown Coordinating Council, said his organization is working with a number of groups to address the problem of panhandling in downtown.

Baker said the larger goal is to educate the public that giving money doesn’t help the panhandlers.

“That is one of the key elements of the message: Don’t give money to panhandlers,” Baker said.