I retired in late 2016 from Sacramento after
11 years as the City's Urban Forester and
5 years as the City Arborist for Folsom,
California. Like many of us, retirement
came unexpectedly after a change in man-
agement and policy occurred that I was
not aligned with. I wanted to stay involved
and current, so I joined up with a colleague
to help build capacity in his tree care busi-
ness as a short-term endeavor and took
on a few larger consulting clients, primarily
in telecommunications. In Sacramento I
rarely had the opportunity to work with
individuals and get out on job sites. Now
I had boots on the ground. Though com-
pletely comfortable as a consultant, I was,
ironically, sorely out of practice in terms
of quoting actual tree work. Go figure.
In late 2018 I was contacted by a consulting
engineering firm that specialized in pro-
viding design, inspections, and construction
management for public agencies. I met with
management informally ("Hey, I'm retired!
No formal interviews, OK?") They informed
me about the scope of work, the need,
the hours and pay scale, but not about the
client. A month or so came and went with
no contact, and I had mostly forgotten
about it when the call came. My new client
was none other than the City of Folsom,
where I cut my teeth on planning and
development. I know the community, so I
could hit the ground running. I work with
fun, bright, thoughtful, and very talented
thirty-somethings, reminding me that as my
career is coming to a close, they represent
the future work force. I feel very fortunate.
As a result of California State law changes
regarding consulting services for local gov-
ernments, I am now a "retired annuitant"
for Folsom, which allows me to retain
my pension with limited hours and to
continue to be involved. In my free time
I'm enjoying a return to yoga, a little bit
of teaching, long weekends, and I finally
have time and energy for my friends and
family. My feet still hit the floor at 4:30
a.m., though. Working on that one …
—Joe Benassini
"Hey, I'm retired! No
formal interviews, OK?"
urban-forestry.com 23
