What is a Management Plan? Management plans are important for developing a short-term plan of action to be implemented daily by the urban forestry operations manager. A management plan is also required to project adequate funding needs. A management plan uses accurate and comprehensive tree inventory data to set goals and metrics, and provide answers to questions that are essential to both public safety and the longevity of city trees. Such questions include:
at is in place now? Currently, the City Arborist, housed in the Landscape Management Division, works with this team to assess, prune, or remove any trees in need of care each year. In addition, the City Arborist's team also responds to service requests received by the public for public tree care or inspections. Read more on the assessment of the existing management approach in Charlotte. However, a formally written and adopted management plan does not currently exist. As of today, tree work is largely reactive.
What is needed? How much should the city be spending each year on tree care? A management plan is the key to determining that number. Adequate funding levels are determined by asking how much is needed to annually implement the management plan. In the absence of a management plan, city spending levels can be compared to other cities in the U.S. to help determine appropriate funding needs. As shown in the table to the right, Charlotte's annual spending per tree ($9.39) is significantly less than the national average ($42.59 per tree), similar-sized cities ($24.23 per tree), and cities in the southern regions of the country ($81.97). After true financial needs are determined, the next question focuses on where to obtain those funds. A combination of the following may be an option: Effective city asset management requires maintenance funds, which comes from the city budget. City council will need to adequately fund proactive tree care to keep citizens safe and extend the life of Charlotte's trees. The management plan may identify a significant increase in funding needed to catch up on the backlog of tree care. Expanding the allowable uses of the Tree Save funds should be revisited to consider short-term use towards tree maintenance (ex. possibly for the next 5-10 years) to help catch up on any maintenance backlog. After this period, these funds can go back to use for purchases of conservation land only. Adjust the roles and partnership between the city, and TreesCharlotte will also help alleviate some of the city's workload by allowing them to focus solely on maintenance, and thus reduce financial needs. Funds should be directed to take care of existing assets. |
Note on table above. Data comes from a 2014 national census of municipal tree care and management programs, completed in 2016 by Richard Hauer, of Stevens Point at University of Wisconsin, and Ward Peterson, of Davey Resource Group. The table above compares the study's findings to Charlotte’s municipal tree care and management spending (Hauer 2016).
|