diff --git a/src/allmydata/client.py b/src/allmydata/client.py
index dd3c912de..03bf609e9 100644
--- a/src/allmydata/client.py
+++ b/src/allmydata/client.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from base64 import urlsafe_b64encode
 from functools import partial
 from configparser import NoSectionError
 
+from six import ensure_text
 from foolscap.furl import (
     decode_furl,
 )
@@ -989,6 +990,9 @@ class _Client(node.Node, pollmixin.PollMixin):
             static_servers = servers_yaml.get("storage", {})
             log.msg("found %d static servers in private/servers.yaml" %
                     len(static_servers))
+            static_servers = {
+                ensure_text(key): value for (key, value) in static_servers.items()
+            }
             self.storage_broker.set_static_servers(static_servers)
         except EnvironmentError:
             pass
diff --git a/src/allmydata/storage_client.py b/src/allmydata/storage_client.py
index ae7ea7ca1..2cbff82c6 100644
--- a/src/allmydata/storage_client.py
+++ b/src/allmydata/storage_client.py
@@ -273,7 +273,6 @@ class StorageFarmBroker(service.MultiService):
         # doesn't really matter but it makes the logging behavior more
         # predictable and easier to test (and at least one test does depend on
         # this sorted order).
-        servers = {ensure_text(key): value for (key, value) in servers.items()}
         for (server_id, server) in sorted(servers.items()):
             try:
                 storage_server = self._make_storage_server(