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Board recommends higher per-tree assessment as staffing limits shrink spring planting program
Summary
The board recommended the Common Council set a public hearing and approved raising the homeowner assessment for new street trees to $3.97 per tree for spring 2025, citing lower planting numbers, staffing limits and species-diversity goals.
The Waukesha City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Board on Feb. 17 recommended the Common Council set a public hearing and approved increasing the homeowner assessment for new street trees to $3.97 per tree for the spring 2025 program.
Melissa Lipska, filling in for City Forestry Supervisor Aaron Laynard, told the board the spring program plans 47 new plantings in Fox Lake and Howell Oaks subdivisions and 55 trees along Magnolia Drive once road reconstruction is complete. She said the department has reduced new plantings because of limited staffing and that the city is prioritizing biodiversity after earlier overreliance on maples; 40 ironwood trees are slated for delivery this spring.
Board members debated cost recovery and staffing. City staff said the replacement trees are generally not charged to homeowners; only new trees are assessed. The assessment had been $3.50 per tree in 2024; the board voted to raise it to $3.97 to recover more of the program’s costs. The motion to set the higher assessment passed unanimously.
Lipska said forestry is operating at roughly 50% staffing and the department is holding additional planting spots in case hiring progresses before spring. The board discussed possibilities for fall planting or carrying over spots to next year if staffing remains constrained.
No funding or planting schedule was finalized at the meeting; staff will present formal assessment language and the recommended hearing date to the Common Council.
