Mayor Emanuel Announces 10 Additional Crews Are Being Redirected to Forestry To Completely Eliminate Tree Trimming Backlog

October 6, 2015

Efficiencies in garbage collection free up $9.5 million in resources to be partially redirected toward tree trimming

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced that the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) is redirecting 10 crews to the Bureau of Forestry to completely eliminate the backlog in tree trimming requests.

This investment is made possible by a portion of the $9.5 million in operational savings achieved through grid refuse collection, which reduced the average daily deployment of garbage trucks from 310 to 292.

"The proper maintenance of Chicago's parkway trees is an important investment in our neighborhoods," said Mayor Emanuel.  "By expanding the resources available to the Bureau of Forestry, the City is protecting the health and vibrancy of the urban canopy for years to come and helping to make sure requests for tree trims are answered as quickly as possible for residents."

This announcement builds on Mayor Emanuel's previous efforts to improve tree trimming services for residents.  In 2015, the Mayor made a $700,000 budget investment for 2015 weekend forestry work, which has helped eliminate the tree trimming backlog by 50 percent.

In October 2014, DSS had 28,000 open tree trimming requests dating back to 2012.  To date, there are approximately 14,000 open requests that were submitted within the 2015 calendar year.

"The Department of Streets and Sanitation is constantly working to improve response time and productivity in tree trimming.  The additional resources for 2016 are a smart investment in the proper care of Chicago's growing urban canopy, as well as an important step to completely eliminating the City's tree trim backlog," said Commissioner Charles L. Williams.

For more information on DSS or to submit a tree trimming service request, call 311.  Residents can visit www.cityofchicago.org/dss.

 

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