Kamloops city council’s attempt to save thousands in taxpayer dollars by ditching weed management along highways was a short-lived mission.

They opted last spring to save $120,000 by cutting the practice, hoping the provincial government would pick up the slack. That did not happen.

“It looks unkempt. It looks dead and it’s a fire hazard,” Coun. Stephen Karpuk said at a council meeting today, Sept. 22.

It’s something Kamloops residents noticed too, as entrances to the city that were once lush and landscaped became overrun with six-foot-tall weeds throughout the year.

The decision was two-fold at the time.

Councillors wanted to both shave costs from the budget and put pressure on the province to take on a task they reasoned were being “downloaded” onto the city, leaving once-manicured highway entrances to be overrun by weeds.

The move was short-sighted, according to Coun. Nancy Bepple.

“The city asked to beautify the entrances to our city…I do not think when a city asks to take on something, should you use the term ‘downloading,'” she said.

Bepple said that the province asked the city to remove irrigation and trees from Crown land if it is not being used.

When council cut the expense, it saved $120,000 from the 2026 budget. Two-thirds of that would have gone toward seasonal workers who weren’t hired back this year.

The next council will be asked to put that money back in the 2027 budget.

Meanwhile, council put off any decision to increase funding toward a number of other measures to deal with overgrown weeds in alleys and along local streets.

The responsibility is on homeowners, but Coun. Margot Middleton suggested the bureaucratic process behind bylaw complaints is too long to have any effect.

Parks and streets manager Jeff Putnam said city staff have a 200-call backlog for overgrown weeds and trees at any given time.