With Oakland unable to pay for keeping up street trees, business owners and districts are banding together to pay out of pocket to keep the streets clear.

"It's just another added expense we have to take on," said Chris Jackson, operations manager of the Rockridge District Association.

Because of the ongoing budget crisis, the city has had to cut tree service staff at the Oakland Public Works Agency by 40 percent, according to public information officer Kristine Shaff.

"A significant amount of work, we are not being able to do it," she said.

That means no pruning on those street trees handled by the agency, only emergency work to remove trees that might damage property, hurt a passer-by or obscure important signage.

Jackson said a hazardous tree was taken down by city staff on College Avenue last week, but no other work is being done.

"It's up to the individual business districts to take care of their own tree trimming," Jackson said.

He anticipates this will cost the Rockridge merchants around $24,000. In addition, some restaurants have received notices from the city they have to lop tree limbs because of the danger rats will drop down and make their way into the building, Jackson said.

Responsibility for street trees does not lie solely with the city, according to Shaff, but varies according to who planted the tree.

In Montclair Village, the business association has contracted with a landscaping company

"Our trees aren't as mature," he said.

Vickery said regular maintenance for city trees hasn't been an issue yet, although the association has supplemented other city services with private security and street cleaning.

An April 2009 report on the Public Works Agency by an independent auditor, commissioned by the city, found that the agency needed to reduce services in order to keep going, but also warned of the consequences of putting off too much maintenance.

Shaff said the budget cuts meant the agency was both restructuring to be more efficient and relying heavily on volunteers through its It Starts in the Heart program and partnerships.

"Many of the commercial districts have been supportive and collaborative with us," she said.

She urged people to continue to use the agency's call center to report tree problems. However, the agency's Web site states, "Tree services are limited to the removal of hazardous tree conditions."

Merchants don't feel they can wait for the city to catch up with regular pruning and maintenance.

"We're actually experiencing some falling branches," Jackson said.