Council postpones vote to eliminate city forester position after union and public concerns

The Niagara Falls City Council on June 12 postponed a proposed reorganization that would have abolished the city forester position and combined its duties with a foreman role in another department. The motion to postpone was made during the legislative session and passed by a recorded vote.

The proposal drew criticism from public commenters and union‑aligned speakers who said the forestry workload and specialized duties do not fit neatly into a combined position. Tim Huether, a resident who said he works with related crews, told the council the forestry department had previously been understaffed and that eliminating the forester is a “bad idea.” He said the city had paid substantial legal costs in past litigation when the forester position was eliminated and later restored, and argued the city should avoid reintroducing similar disputes.

“I can assure you we are … in frank and binding 2 full time positions for 2 departments ... But anyway, that's a bad idea,” Huether said, describing historical staffing and litigation cost concerns. Public commenters also noted that residents have outstanding tree‑removal requests and that removing the dedicated forester could worsen service delays.

A councilmember moved to postpone the item to allow the administration to address questions about possible personnel changes and associated “perk charges.” The motion to table the reorganization passed by roll call with three recorded ayes.

At the meeting a councilmember added that multiple ash trees and other backlog work remained on the city’s list and urged postponement so the administration could present budget and staffing implications. The council did not adopt any personnel changes during the meeting and asked the administration to return with additional details and cost analyses before reconsideration.