Aldermen challenge new bagged leaf policy
By Emily Pofahl
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Milwaukee homeowners will need to bag their leaves this fall instead of sweeping them into piles or onto the street, following a surprise policy change announced Wednesday by the Department of Public Works to address flooding concerns.
Beryl Harper, a resident of Cold Spring Park, said leftover leaves on her street contributed to flooding after record rainfall earlier this month. She’s not convinced the new policy will help.
“Are you going to actually come out on a scheduled time and actually get those bags up, or are we going to turn around, and it’s blowing down the street?” Harper said.
Jerrel Kruschke, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, announced the city will require residents to bag their leaves instead of piling them along curbs. Kruschke says the change will start this fall.
It took the Public Works Committee by surprise.
“We do not need city approval. I think, as we just discussed in this committee meeting, that we’ll come back and lay out the plan for them so everyone understands,” Kruschke said after the meeting Wednesday.
Alderman Lamont Westmoreland said he wished DPW had consulted the public and the council before implementing the policy.
“They say it’s going to start this fall. The hell it is. Not over my dead body,” he said.
He noted that the change has overwhelmed his office with constituent calls.
“It killed the efficiency of my office today,” Westmoreland said.
Alderman Scott Spiker also criticized the decision, saying it places an undue burden on residents.
“You’re telling me I have this city service that’s been provided for decades, and now I have to tie everything up in a bow?” Spiker said. “Some folks have trouble enough raking to the curb. Asking this puts them to the breaking point.”
While DPW does not require council approval to change the policy, aldermen can file a resolution to block it.
Harper voiced her concerns about the impact on retirees like herself.
“Now you’re telling me that now that I’m retired and I’m on Social Security, we want this? You’re constantly raising the taxes, and I don’t understand it,” she said.
A DPW spokesperson said the announcement was just the beginning of the process and that the department is working on a detailed plan for bagged leaf pickup to present to the Common Council later this year. The spokesperson added that DPW welcomes the aldermen’s debate and is committed to collaborating on a solution.
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