Recently I received a spring cleanup letter from our yard maintenance service. The owner added a handwritten notification: “There will be an increase in prices due to electric blower mandate, labor increase, and amount of leaves to dump.” When the crew arrived for the cleanup, they removed a large pile of leaf debris muck in the street next to a storm drain that had been there for over four months. I asked the village whether homeowners are now expected to clear street leaves as well as parkway leaves. I received conflicting responses.
Trustee Cory Wesley replied in an email: “There is no village requirement for residents to clean leaves from the street. Nor is there a requirement to clear them from your yard.” He later added, “I’ve heard that not clearing blocked drains and allowing the street to function as overflow storage is the right course of action.”
Does any homeowner with a significant yard-tree population find this approach practical? In my case, it is a quick path to killed grass on a smothered parkway lawn, complete with added leaf muck from the street by passing snowplows, and flooding from blocked drains for an indefinite period. The workable alternative is to clear the leaves, and we know who now pays for that.
Public Works Director Rob Sproule, in a separate email, disagrees with Trustee Wesley: “The removal of leaves and other naturally occurring debris is considered a shared responsibility. Residents are encouraged to assist in keeping curbs clear, particularly near sewer grates, to help prevent localized flooding. If the community desires a higher level of service beyond what is currently provided, service levels could be increased, though this would come at an additional cost to residents.”
So my neighbors and I are expected to “share” the street clearing workload, and an increase from the current level of zero street-sweeper visits in over four months sounds like it would lead to an increase in taxes. This is not the level of service we’ve enjoyed for decades, and suggests a whole new meaning of Mr. Sproule’s reference to “shared responsibility.”
Robert Parks
Oak Park