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Overview <br /> The close of 1995 marks the eighth season that the City's Vegetation Management <br /> Program has been under the administration of the Public Works Maintenance Division. <br /> Since its transfer to this division, statistics which indicate program effectiveness <br /> and performance standards have been tracked. This report will examine and compare <br /> statistics from 1995 with statistics from previous years. and will address any <br /> significant changes. The effectiveness of the program will be evaluated and whether <br /> or not its goals are being met. Attached is a chart summarizing program statistics <br /> for the last five years (Table 1) and a summary identifying the origin of all 1995 <br /> service requests.(Table 2) Also attached are breakdowns of all enforcements by <br /> violation type. and breakdowns of program billing charges and contractor payments. <br /> The five year summary is of interest when looking for trends in the program. The <br /> statistics indicate a fairly consistent number of service requests and enforcement <br /> notices sent in the last three years. with a slight increase in the past year. The <br /> number of abatements have held steady the last three years. after showing a steady <br /> decline in the previous two years.(Figure 1.) This general trend corresponds with <br /> the goals of the program in that it indicates a continued public awareness and <br /> education of vegetation control requirements. and program consistency in enforcement <br /> of vegetation related violations of the municipal code. resulting in the need for <br /> fewer abatements. <br /> In May of 1995. the Vegetation Program was moved from Maintenance Planning /Technical <br /> Support to the Urban Forestry Section. The program is now under the supervision of <br /> the Urban Forester. This move was a logical re- organization, placing the Program <br /> into a work section which deals with many related issues. Coordination of issues <br /> such as hazardous tree abatements should proceed with increased efficiency. <br /> On November 5th, the main office at Public Works Maintenance suffered fire damage. <br /> This building housed the Urban Forestry Section and the Vegetation Program. The <br /> Vegetation Program office suffered heat and smoke damage. Some records were lost. <br /> The Program has been operating out of temporary office space in the weight room at <br /> Public Works. The office may be repaired by June, 1996. <br /> 1 <br />