City hall is offering some added assistance to city residents dealing with dead or damaged trees, paying homeowners to remove the root (and trunk and branches) of the problem.

Members of the Dowagiac City Council voted unanimously to update the conditions of the city’s tree removal incentive program Monday night, allowing residents to be reimbursed a greater amount for tree removal, Monday night at city hall. Under the new policy, homeowners wanting to remove dead or hazardous trees from their property are eligible to have 20 percent of the cost of removal paid back to them by the city, for a maximum of $500 per tree.

The program, which has been in place since 2012, is designed to encourage residents to have trees that are at risk of falling or are dead or decaying removed from their lawns by having the city pay for a portion of the removal work.

“The program began a number of years ago, when there were a large amount of these kinds of trees located on private property,” said City Manager Kevin Anderson. “People were asking us [the city] to remove them. However, we cannot do so, at least not without going through the long blight removal process.”

Instead, city council launched the tree removal program, in a similar vein to the city’s housing incentive program.

This fiscal year alone the city has received 12 applications for tree removal, Anderson said in a memo to city council.

Previously, the program allowed for residents to apply for a maximum reimbursement of $200 per tree, for up to three trees per property. With some larger trees costing up to $3,500 to remove, the city manager proposed that the program change up its reimbursement model to encourage more citizens to take advantage of it.

“Having a fixed ratio instead a fixed amount will help us better accomplish the goal of the program,” Anderson said.

In spite of the increased reimbursement figures, the city will still allocate a $2,000 per year figure for the program.

The program will go before council in another two years time for renewal.