Tree Pruner II

Salary: $52,564.77 – $73,963.91 annually

Location: Sacramento, CA

Job Type: Full-Time (Career)

Job Number: 003640-25-PW-2

Department: Public Works, Maintenance Services Division

Opening Date: February 18, 2025

Closing Date: Continuous

THIS POSTING WILL BE OPEN UNTIL FILLED. Application cut‑off dates are March 31 2025, June 30 2025, September 30 2025 and December 31 2025. New hires in the Tree Pruner II classification may be eligible for a one‑time recruitment and retention bonus up to $1,000 during the first year of employment. The incumbent is responsible for pruning and removing trees along City streets and performing related maintenance duties.

• Climb trees using ropes, cables, climbing saddles, and spurs and operate aerial tower truck to remove undesired branches, limbs, and trees; lower removed portions to the ground with bull ropes.
• Operate chain and hand saws, power or pole pruners, axes, and other hand tools for felling trees or cutting felled trees; operate chipper and brush truck.
• Remove over‑hanging branches and split or break limbs after a storm.
• Prune trees for clearance of overhead utility facilities excluding high‑voltage line clearance.
• Sharpen and maintain tools, ropes, and other safety equipment.
• Participate in planting, transplanting and seeding of trees.
• Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
• Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
• Cut away dead and excess branches from trees or clear branches around power lines, using climbing equipment or buckets of extended truck booms, and/or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers.
• Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low‑hanging branches.
• Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
• Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
• Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
• Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
• Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes or other tools.
• Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
• Remove broken limbs from wires, using hood extension poles.
• Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
• Operate a vehicle‑mounted work planning computer.

• Knowledge of climbing techniques and proper use and care of tree pruning equipment.
• Knowledge of common hazards incurred in climbing, pruning, and felling trees and safety precautions to be observed.
• Knowledge of safety rules and practices used in operating and maintaining tree pruning equipment and trucks.
• Knowledge of common knots and rope ties used in tree pruning work.
• Knowledge of planting, transplanting, and seeding methods.
• Knowledge of methods used to protect trees from fungi and insects.
• Knowledge of common names and growth characteristics of trees grown in the City of Sacramento.
• Knowledge of common insect and disease problems which affect trees in the City of Sacramento.
• Knowledge of tree pruning techniques and practices used by the City Tree Section.

• Climb trees and work at heights, sometimes in precarious positions and under adverse weather conditions.
• Learn to use tree pruning and maintenance equipment.
• Follow oral and written instructions.
• Operate tree pruning equipment in a safe and efficient manner.
• Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Maintain periodic updated CPR and first aid training.
• Obtain a California Class B Driver License by the end of probationary period.
• Climb and prune trees using ropes, cables, climbing saddles, and spurs with greater independence and less lead supervision than the Tree Pruner Trainee.
• Operate aerial tower truck.
• Operate a computer.
• Operate chain and hand saws, power or pole pruners, axes, and other hand tools used in tree pruning and maintenance work.
• Perform journey‑level work without direct supervision in pruning…