Our Street is a No Wake Zone

You may not know this, but Tony and Aaron are neighbors. And today, after some drenching rain, the only way to get to the other's house is via canoe or kayak. Or maybe floaties, if you have a set.

This got us thinking - do you know what to do if you need assistance on your property from your town, city, or county? Do you know what departments you need, or who to call? We know that every municipality is going to be different, but here are a couple people you might need to call when working on your house, apartment, or other property.

1. Public Works: we suspect this name won't change too much across municipalities, and this will likely be the department you call for most issues. Hopefully they send out a large trash and/or recycling schedule at the beginning of the year, or they post it online, and that will keep you from need to call for the next date. We look these up a lot when we're working on a project that has some demolition to it. We called them today because of the water, and they're who you call about other issues with the road. Lastly, they are likely who you call if you have municipal-owned trees on your property and they need caring for. If you switch home insurance carriers, you may want to prepare for a property inspection and get rid of branches hanging over your house.

2. Town or City Council: This group will have regular meetings, and they will be advertised to the public. Hopefully you can make these meetings, but if not, they should have a generic contact number or email, and you should have a representative from your part of town on the council. In 2026, we would expect that you are able to find them online as well, and it is their job to help you with things in your town or city. These are likely less urgent things, like you want the sidewalk extended down your street, or you believe a nearby intersection needs a stop sign or traffic light. These still impact your quality of life at your house, but it isn't an acute issue.

3. Parks and Recreation: This might be a judgement call, but if you're out with your family and notice an issue in a park, they will likely be your call. We say it is a judgement call because if the issue is full garbage cans (or similar), something like this may be done by the Department of Public Works in your city, so use whichever number you come across first. Whoever you reach should be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

4. School District: We live near one of the schools in our city, so we have the unique experience of being within range of various school activities. Especially sports. We have called the school district over a broken scoreboard that wouldn't stop this awful mechanical buzzing, a broken flagpole that claaaaaaaaaanged in the wind during every storm, and soccer and lacrosse balls that land in our yards where our kids and dogs play. We aren't trying to be difficult, but when they are your neighbors, you can't just walk next door and be like "hey, can you turn the music down?" It requires a phone call, probably an office assistant or two, and a call back when the right person finally gets the message.

Other good numbers to know, or know where to find, are emergency services in your area (in the US, it is always 911), non-emergency numbers for the police and fire department, your utility companies, and who to call when you start digging up your front yard. (We wouldn't do this just for funsies, but if you do it, you need to call first!)

Hopefully this was helpful! Do you think we missed anything?