Cutbacks impact Toledo's tree cutting operation

There are more than 2,700 dying trees on city streets that need to be cut.

Cutbacks are having an impact on Toledo's tree cutting operation. Hundreds of dead trees likely won't be cut this year. The city tree cutting team is down about 30 percent.

The commissioner of Toledo's forestry department says his hands are tied. City crews are cutting 40 hours a week, but there are still more than 2,700 dying trees on city streets that need to be cut.

Irene Young's been waiting for more than a year. "You just have to wait and see what happens," she says.

The city left 9 tree cutting positions open this year and some streets in the Old West End need attention. The commissioner of parks and forestry says thousands of dead ash trees - victims of the Emerald Ash Borer - are causing the backlog. And it's possible we could hear about those trees falling on homes when severe weather hits. "To this date, we haven't had large damage on that scale from an ash tree, but it's only a matter of time," says Dennis Garvin.

Here's the toughest part: when the city cuts trees, it charges homeowners an assessed fee. Tree cutters aren't paid with money from the general fund. The work they do generates revenue.

Garvin says he's asked the administration for more help, but during a time when the city isn't hiring police or firefighters, Toledo isn't willing to go out on the limb and hire tree cutters.

In the event of tree damage to your home, call 419-936-2020. Also, if limbs or branches fall in your yard, the city will not pick them up unless you cut them and tie them into bundles.

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