I have button pinned to my office bulletin board that says, “Ask a bunch of questions.” It should be a journalist’s motto.

I remembered those words when Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone announced at well-attended press conference last week how he was going to close the city’s $16 million budget gap. Measures included 151 municipal layoffs and cut backs in services, including suspension of curbside bulk pickups—stuff like sofas and old refrigerators.

So I asked Amicone if that policy included discarded Christmas trees. He said yes, it did. That meant merry-makers would have to dispose of their trees by taking them to the city’s recycling center. Yeah, right!

I wrote in my column the next day: “The prediction is is that after Yuletide, the City of Hills will be dotted with forlorn, dried-out firs draped with strands of tinsel.”

Apparently, the city had second thoughts about this. Today, we’ve learned that they will, in fact, pick up the trees and non-metal bulk stuff.

Here’s the full statement from David Simpson, the mayor’s press aide:

“After further planning and review, DPW will continue curbside pick-up of NON-metal bulk items including Christmas trees. However, as of January 1, 2009, due to budget constraints, METAL bulk items will NOT be picked up at curbside. Accordingly, the city will no longer make appointments for this service as is our current practice. We are encouraging residents to take metal bulk items to the Recycling Center. We are also encouraging residents to put out their Christmas trees during the period Jan. 5 – 9 when they will be taken to the recycling center. If residents put Christmas trees out any other time they will still be picked up, just not recycled.”