On Tuesday, at Edmonton city hall, councillors gave an update after city crews have confirmed a fifth case of dutch elm disease, potentially deadly for the cities 90-thousand elm trees.
With a fifth case discovered in October, officials telling city council, they’re continuing efforts to contain the spread.
The most recent case discovered on a private property in Edmonton’s northeast.
The city of Edmonton’s infrastructure and operations department told CityNews through a statement it is an isolated case.
Adding that beetle holes and wilting leaves in the summer are some of the signs to watch out for, encouraging homeowners to call 3-1-1 if they suspect their tree may have dutch elm disease.
311 got over 140 calls about the disease in the last three months.
Edmonton’s mayor telling CityNews he and councillors voted to increase funding for tree trimming in last weeks budget amendments.
“Our administration is managing the situation effectively. They have identified the trees that have been infected — as well as the trees on public land and private property. And the funding that we’ve approved for more pruning will help with that situation as well,” said Amarjeet Sohi, Mayor of Edmonton.
City councillors also receiving financial updates Tuesday, with the city of Edmonton set to end the year with over 4 billion dollars in outstanding debt.
Mayor Sohi says he’s confident in his talks with Alberta premier Danielle smith, that the province will step up with funding for the city.
“Once they allocate and start paying property taxes that are owed to edmontonians from the provincial government, we are owed close to 80 million dollars since 2019 and moving forward that’s about 15 million dollars. So, if the province steps up, which I have every reason to believe that they will — we will be able to bring down property taxes further,” said Sohi.