OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg has trimmed roughly 600 hours of city labor by implementing its new brush removal schedule.

According to an update at Monday’s city council meeting, the Department of Public Works has spent about 600 hours less on brush removal than it had spent by this time last year. That’s about half of last year’s 1,200 hours spent on brush removal at this time last year.

While the exact savings won’t be known until the end of the season, city councilor William Hosmer said it appeared the new system was saving time.

Councilor Michael Morley was concerned that the crews might not have work to do and was curious if this would lead to cuts to the department.

Former interim DPW director Gregg Harland said there was plenty of work for the crews to do.

“There is always more work to do than there are bodies,” he said.

City Manager John Pinkerton said saving time on brush removal means the DPW can do more city projects in house. He said this would mean fewer projects would require outside contracts and could have a large potential savings for the city.

Morley was also concerned that the figures were not an accurate reflection of the hours being spent on brush removal, however Harland said he could easily produce documentation to support them.

While there has been some confusion surrounding the pickup dates, the city is using local media, its website and its Facebook page to get the message out.

Residents may also bring yard waste to the Old City Landfill at the end of Champlain Street from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.