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Council considers restoring tree‑maintenance funding, asks staff for targeted use data
Summary
Council discussed restoring $50,000–$136,000 for urban forestry maintenance (e.g., pruning ~250 trees per $50K) and debated targeted allocation vs broader program priorities; council members signaled support for partial restoration pending staff detail on priorities and deployment.
Council debated restoring a cut to urban forestry that staff said could be scaled (rough estimates: $50,000 funds pruning of about 250 trees). Several members described the city’s recent tree health challenges and asked for prioritization criteria to ensure funds are used where they prevent the greatest loss.
"I would just like us to maybe have some conversation about things that will more directly impact people at critical nexuses before we move," one councilmember said, urging targeted allocation. Another member argued the additional funding is small relative to the fund balance cushion and urged restoration to avoid avoidable tree loss.
Members proposed a compromise that moved several smaller offsets into the property‑tax column and earmarked $31,475 to urban forestry in the current package; staff will be asked to show how those amounts translate into operational work and to return if the council wants a larger restoration.
