Your tax dollars go toward a lot of things in South Milwaukee, services big and small.
One service I appreciate — one that certainly not all communities provide — is leaf pickup, and it’s now underway.
Here are some details from the city website:
Residents are permitted to place leaves in the gutter for collection from October 1 to November 15.
Yard waste and plants must be taken to the Self-Deposit Station. NO YARD WASTE OR PLANTS WILL BE COLLECTED.
Do not place leaves in the gutter after November 15 – they may not be picked up.
Learn more on the Street Department page.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Yes, it is a very useful service, but it would be wonderful if more of us composted our leaves or simply raked them beneath shrubs to decompose naturally. The larva of numerous native pollinators and butterflies use leaves as their launchpad for the following year’s offspring. Allowing them to fall in a protected place allows for regeneration of some of the most fascinating butterflies. And, leaf matter is so beneficial to the health of soil microorganisms, reducing our dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilizers.
It would be even more convenient to be able to burn them like Oak Creek can. I’m happy that South Milwaukee has taken a fair neutral-ground (pun intended) approach by allowing the leaves to be collected.