SAUGUS-When workers cleaned up the small Revolutionary War era cemetery near Saugus Center, they had no idea they would start a little revolution of their own when they felled a couple of trees.Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato called it a little mix up that resulted in cemetery workers downing a small cluster of what he called “scrub trees.”Tim Hawkes, chairman of the Tree Committee saw it as something else, and said the Cemetery Department essentially broke the law.According to state law, a public hearing is required before any tree on public property can be taken down. Hawkes also pointed out that Town Meeting passed a very comprehensive shade tree bylaw last spring.The bylaw is aimed at ensuring the health and longevity of the town’s community forest through policies and guidelines. One section states specifically that no one is permitted to remove a shade tree, which is any tree on a public way, without a permit form the tree warden.Hawkes noted that while Town Meeting approved the bylaw, it has yet to pass muster with the Attorney General’s office, which must occur before it can be officially enacted.”When it is approved I will send copies to every department,” Hawkes said.Hawkes said that should clear up any confusion of what rights various departments have.Hawkes said he was also aware that the trees were removed before Tree Warden Tim Wendell or Attubato were aware of it.Workers were sprucing up the small cemetery, which the Cemetery Commission decided to reopen for veterans’ graves as a way to alleviate the space crunch at Riverside Cemetery.In a perfect world, Hawkes said he would like to see the trees replaced. Not only were they part of the cemetery landscape but the cluster, some of which were more than 6-inches around, also provided a buffer for homes on Columbus Street that back up to the cemetery. Those homes now have an open view of not just the cemetery, but also Main Street and the gas station across the street.Attubato said he has asked Town Manager Andrew Bisignani to mediate the issue. Bisignani was not available for comment Friday.”We’ll do our best to mitigate the issue,” Hawkes said. “We’re all working on it.”