Resident urges Redmond to fund city-employed arborist to verify applicant reports

During public comment Dr. David Morton urged the council to budget for a city-employed arborist who could independently verify or dispute findings of applicant-hired Qualified Tree Professionals (QTPs) used in tree-removal and retention decisions. "I'm asking council to budget for a city employed arborist position who can independently verify or where warranted dispute the findings of applicant hired QTPs," Morton said, arguing many QTPs are hired and paid by applicants who may have a financial interest in the outcome.

Morton framed the request as a structural fix rather than a criticism of individual professionals, saying the city currently lacks in-house technical capacity to check the work that informs its decisions and that gap will grow as canopy goals tighten under the ongoing tree-code update. He said he would submit written materials for the council's upcoming biennial budget process; the council did not take action or commit funding during the meeting.