Oxnard-- The City Council received a tree maintenance update during its Tuesday, September 12 meeting.
THE City’s Annual Operating Budget for the park’s urban forestry sub-division was approximately $1.25 million in fiscal year 2021-22, $1.5 million in fiscal year 2022-23, and $1.3 million in fiscal year 2023-24.
When Measure E passed, Parks Manager Kevin Thompson said funding was identified to deal with the long-deferred maintenance in the City’s urban forest, which included putting together a grid pruning plan, having contractors assess hazardous trees throughout the City, and consultants looking at existing programs and making recommendations.
“The Special District Division of the Public Works Department is responsible for 51 assessment districts containing 17 parks and the landscape and tree maintenance for each district,” Thompson said. “There are over 15,000 trees that are managed by the Special Districts.”
He said each district is funded annually through property assessments, including landscape and tree maintenance.
“Some districts are underfunded or partially funded and have been able to perform routine landscape maintenance, and many trees have been impacted by the deferred maintenance,” he said. “As more resources and staff are available to focus on the City’s urban forest, the more accurate the data becomes.”
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