Soon after taking office in 2009, Mayor Dwight C. Jones reversed the action of his predecessor, L. Douglas Wilder, who reduced the vacuuming of leaves to once a year to save $300,000.

Mayor Jones restored the traditional two cycle collection of leaves in city neighborhoods.

But six years later, Mayor Jones is dusting off the Wilder-era plan and cutting back leaf collection to save money.

Under the change, the City of Richmond will vacuum leaf piles only once and will start leaf collection nearly three weeks later than usual — after Thanksgiving when most leaves are down.

The vacuum trucks will start sucking up leaves on Monday, Nov. 30. The work will continue for 10 weeks through Friday, Feb. 5, according to the new schedule.

However, that schedule depends on how much snow the city gets. Most years, the leaf collection schedule is extended because the leaf collection trucks also are used to plow snow.

The new schedule ends the administration’s threat to limit leaf collection to the oldest part of the city with a combined sewer system — a prospect that Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn had spelled out to City Council.

Claiming that the council had shifted too much funding from city departments to the school system, she stated in mid-September that leaf collection would be eliminated in all or most of the 1st, 4th, 8th and 9th districts and in smaller swatches of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th districts.

However, the mayor and his CAO turned to former Mayor Wilder’s 2008 plan to soothe upset council members and constituents.

The two vacuum collection cycles that often lasted as long as 22 weeks, required 80 temporary employees and cost about $700,000, previous budgets show. The one-time collection is expected to cost no more than $400,000.

“I’m pleased that the administration has found a way to ensure leaves are vacuumed from all of Richmond’s neighborhoods,” stated City Councilwoman Kathy Graziano, 4th District, who six years ago had pushed to save the two-collection cycle.

According to the city, once collections start, residents should rake leaf piles to the curb or property line before the scheduled date, but not into the street. The city also is advising residents to remove dirt, rocks, branches or metal to avoid having their leaves left uncollected.

Along with vacuuming, the city announced that crews also will pick up unlimited bagged leaves at collection time and 25 bags on trash collection dates. Residents who bag leaves are urged to use biodegradable bags

Residents also can take leaves to the city’s solid waste collection centers in the East End and in South Side or to the “Powerline” area, 8600 Huguenot Road.

According to the city, the first vacuuming is to begin Nov. 30 in the Barton Heights, Battery Park, Bellevue, Ginter Park, Highland Park and Washington Park neighborhoods in North Side; in the Carver, Jackson Ward and Newtowne neighborhoods near Downtown; and in the West End neighborhoods of Byrd Park, the Carillon, Maymont and Oregon Hill. On Dec. 7, vacuuming is to begin west of the Boulevard.

On Dec. 14, collection is to begin in The Fan, VCU area, Windsor Farms, the University of Richmond area and the Far West End and the Bellemeade, Brookbury and Broad Rock Road areas in South Side.

On Dec. 28, collections are to begin the Stony Point area in South Side.

On Jan. 4, collections are to begin in the Forest Hill, Stratford Hills, Westover Hills, Willow Oaks and Woodland Heights sections in South Side and in the Church Hill and Fulton areas in the East End.

On Jan. 18, collections are to begin in Worthington Farms, with collections to begin Feb. 1 in the final area, Westover Gardens, both in South Side.

The collection schedule also is posted at the city’s website, www.Richmondgov.com, or can be obtained by calling (804) 646-5323.