ORANGE : Private Firm Will Maintain City Trees
The trees lining the streets of Orange will no longer be cared for by city employees as of July 6.
The City Council voted this week to turn over the task of monitoring the trees to West Coast Arborist, an Orange-based firm, in an effort to lower city government costs.
The seven city employees who care for the trees will receive layoff notices. However, Patrick Mahoney, the owner of West Coast Arborist, has offered to hire the workers for the same salaries and benefits and guarantee them their new jobs for at least a year.
“We feel the city of Orange has some good employees,” Mahoney said. “This is an opportunity to pick them up. We think highly of them.”
West Coast Arborist will receive $395,000 for fiscal 1993-94 to maintain the trees, a savings of more than $300,000 a year to the city.
“As difficult as this decision was, dollar for dollar we cannot match the price of the contractor,” said Gary Wann, the city’s community services director.
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