The Issue
Across the city, neglected palm trees are dumping dead palm fronds and messy orange berries onto streets and sidewalks.
Why It’s Happening
Faced with a budget crunch, the city has stopped regularly trimming city trees. Its tree maintenance budget has dropped from $2 million in 2007 to $1.1 million today, and it could drop further.
The Bigger Picture
As budget problems worsen, the city expects neglected trees to cause increasing damage to city sidewalks, power lines, and possibly raise the city’s liability for damage and personal injuries from falling fronds and branches.