In 2012, Council Decimated the Forestry Dept., Officials Now Ask for “Patience” as Branches Remain Uncleared

The City of Ann Arbor has contracted Davey Tree Expert Company to augment city staff efforts to pick up branches from the recent ice and snow storms. Streets, sidewalks, trash collection, trees in the right-of-way, water and sewers are all included under the general label of “public services” in the City. 

Due to continued snowy weather and remaining urgent tree issues, “progress on branch pick up has been slow,” say officials.

An unspecified number of dedicated public works crews have been doing double and triple duty.

“They’re collecting and chipping branches in addition to their duties clearing roads of snow/ice and addressing other infrastructure needs,” said Ann Arbor officials.

According to the 2023 Annual Budget, the City’s Public Services Dept. employs 40 FTEs in the Parks and Recreation Dept., where a single urban forestry employee is tucked away. In total as of 2023, the Public Services Dept. employs 232 FTEs, down from 254.15 FTEs in 2015. The number of administrative positions in the Public Services Dept. has risen 62 percent over the past eight years. The number of field operations staff has fallen 20 percent, to 96.45 FTEs employed in 2023, down from 120 FTEs in 2015.

In 2011, under former Mayor John Hieftje, former Public Services Admin. Sue McCormick presented a proposal to save money. McCormick asked Council, including then Third Ward Council member Chris Taylor, to reallocate expenses for forestry operations to the stormwater utility fund, a move that saved the general fund nearly $660,000. At the same time, McCormick and Council members eliminated two vacant full-time forestry positions and contracted out tree trimming, planting and stump removal services. This decision to contract out tree trimming services is adversely impacting the City’s ability to efficiently and quickly clear the fallen branches around town from the recent storms.

As of Friday, March 10, less than 5% of the city’s solid waste routes have had branches collected.

“The city seeks continued patience and understanding as cleanup efforts continue for the next several weeks,” said officials.

Ann Arbor resident Samantha Cucu posted to the City of Ann Arbor’s Facebook page in response to a post explaining why tree and branch removal was going so slowly: “I literally cannot understand how I can pay double the taxes as someone in Westland and they had multiple pick ups, multiple, by the city with a wood chipper. Crews of 4-5 people, not caring how the branches were laid out. Everything picked up. This ask is ridiculous and makes me believe the city feels like they are doing us a favor. I don’t know why I’m so surprised. When I asked for a plan last week, this was not it.”

In 2013, the Ann Arbor Observer reported, “Beyond natural causes like drought and disease, the town’s trees have been affected by the reduction of the city forestry department’s staff from twenty-five to eight over the last thirty years and the cuts in its budget from $2 million to $1.5 million over the last five. This sapped the department’s resources and left jobs like pruning, planting, and regular maintenance undone or underdone.”

In Ann Arbor’s $500 million 2023 budget, City Council allocated just $9,000 to the Urban Forestry Management Plan. In the 2023 budget, in the Public Services area, there is presently 1 FTE urban forestry employee. According to the 2023 Public Services strategic goals and performance measures, the goal is to trim 10 percent of the City’s trees each year. Data show that in 2021 and 2022, staff fell short of the 10 percent goal and trimmed 8.5 and 7 percent, respectively, of the City’s trees. The goal for 2023 is to trim ten percent of Ann Arbor’s 1.45 million trees that make up the City’s urban forest. In 2015, Ann Arbor forestry staffers trimmed 1,000 trees and removed another 735 trees.

In comparison, the City of Berkeley, CA manages 35,000 street and park trees. To take care of those trees, Berkeley employes ten full-time forestry employees. In 2023, Berkeley City Council allocated $3.039 million to its Forestry Dept. to tend to the City’s 35,000 trees. Ann Arbor’s 2023 total budget for parks is around $10 million. In Berkeley, the City’s 2023 budget includes $12.67 million for its parks and marina.

Residents are reminded to follow the guidelines below to help speed up work and keep everyone safe.

City officials ask that branches not be placed on the street or in bike lanes as they can be a safety hazard.

Large branches (at least 3 inches in diameter, roughly wider than a soup can, and at least 4 feet in length):

• Place branches facing the same direction of the street on extensions.
• Remove any spikes, metal or nails from branches.

Smaller branches and twigs (less than 3 inches in diameter and less than 4 feet in length):

• Bundle (twine recommended but not required) in bunches up to 18 inches in diameter and left at the curb.
• Break down larger bundles of branches already placed at the curb to make them safer to handle.

Logs, trunks or roots with stumps (rootballs) will not be collected. ​

For more information on the Ann Arbor compost program, visit a2gov.org/compost.