Saratoga Springs commission creates new Urban Forester role to manage growing tree workload

The Saratoga Springs Civil Service Commission on May 28 approved a competitive new position of Urban Forester in the Department of Public Works and updated the city's arborist job specification to reflect the new role.

The vote followed a presentation from DPW staff that described a sustained increase in workload for the tree crew and the arborist, driven by both public service requests and more frequent development-related tree protection reviews under the city’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). "He has 331 open cases, which is basically 56% of our open cases right now," DPW business manager Mike Vee said of the arborist supervisor's caseload. "By far the biggest and busiest crew is the tree crew, the urban forestry division."

City officials told the commission the new Urban Forester would be a more senior, planning-focused position that oversees long-term urban forest management, coordinates with utilities and planning staff, and implements recommendations from the city's Urban Forestry Management Plan (adopted 2022) and the city's master plan (2013). "The urban forester on a daily basis is going to be really managing the long term planning of the urban forestry division, and is going to be working with other departments, agencies, National Grid ... to be planning what the long term picture is," Vee said.

The commission heard that the arborist position is a working supervisor who responds to right-of-way removals, plantings and utility coordination while also advising the planning board on development questions. That advising role has expanded since adoption of the UDO, meaning the arborist is often pulled into meetings and away from on-the-ground supervision. "If the arborist is off meeting with [planning] staff ... he's not overseeing the work of the crew that day," Vee said. The Urban Forester role is intended to relieve that tension by separating daily operational supervision (arborist) from higher-level planning and interagency coordination (urban forester).

Commissioners asked about qualifications and day-to-day duties. The proposed minimum qualifications include a bachelor's degree plus two years' experience (or equivalent combinations of education and experience), and a requirement that the appointee be a New York State certified arborist at time of appointment and maintain that certification. The commission also discussed coordination with community groups; Vee said the new position would continue regular contacts with volunteer groups such as Tree Toga.

The commission voted to approve the new competitive Urban Forester position and then approved updates to the existing arborist job specification to reflect the creation of the new role. The motion to create the Urban Forester position passed on an affirmative vote; the job-spec update likewise passed. The presentation and votes took place during the Department of Public Works section of the agenda.

Why it matters: City staff described a sustained and growing workload tied to both routine public requests and development review obligations under local planning rules. The new role is framed as an administrative restructuring designed to ensure routine field supervision continues while the city meets expanded planning and protection duties required by the UDO and the 2022 Urban Forestry Management Plan.

Next steps: The commission approved the classification and job description changes; the city will proceed with filling the competitive Urban Forester position according to civil service rules.