DURHAM - So far it has cost city taxpayers nearly $43,000 to clean up debris from a July 4th storm that downed hundreds of trees and left thousands without power.

And the city's still not done. Solid Waste Director Donald Long expects to collect all debris generated by the powerful storm within the next two weeks.

Most of the cost is wrapped up in $33,649 in overtime pay for employees collecting debris on top of their normal routes.

In all, 257 tons of debris was collected, and only about one-quarter of that was able to be recycled. The rest went to the county transfer station, from which it will be shipped to a landfill in Virginia.

Long said the storm came close to qualifying as a full-blown emergency.

"This was the largest undeclared storm I've ever been a part of," he said.

The storm caught the city flat-footed because it fell on a holiday weekend when many city services were shut down, Long said.

He noted that if it had been a declared emergency, he could have "pulled out all the stops" knowing that federal reimbursements would be forthcoming.

Councilman Mike Woodard said city staff needed to have a better game plan for future "small" storms that nonetheless wreak havoc.

Particularly when many Durham trees are nearing 100 years old and are particularly vulnerable to high winds.

"We've got to get out ahead of this issue," Woodard said.

"Over the next 10 to 15 years, we're going start losing a significant portion of our tree stock," Woodard said. "It's a real safety hazard. This is a little event until you or your son or daughter is under one of these trees."