Poll: City budget should focus on street repairs

When it comes to city spending, the majority (58.6 percent) of those responding to an online Argus-Courier poll said that Petaluma’s budget should prioritize spending on street repair and public works.

Here are some of the comments:

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“Maintenance of the existing infrastructure would be a good place to start!”

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“The roads are full of holes, streets overgrown with vegetation. The city looks dirty.”

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“Roads, parks, and dredge the river.”

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“Crime has increased dramatically in the last year and yet we are now running the police department at 20 percent below the FTE rate for a city the size of Petaluma. Second to the crime rate/policing issue, is that of street maintenance and infrastructure.”

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“Drug enforcement! Get the dealers off our streets!”

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“Obvious is street and road repair as ours are in the worst condition I have ever seen in 30 years. Yet year after year, the city manager and council never make this a priority. City manager needs to retire.”

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“Parks, streets, public safety, and why in the world can’t the city be responsible for fixing side walks instead of the home owners? And why can’t the police catch the people committing crimes? I have lost confidence in the city of Petaluma.”

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“Petaluma has 60,000 people but we have the least amount of hiking opportunities compared to the rest of Sonoma County. Ten years to open a park, i.e.. Tolay, and you need permission not to mention it is miles away? I would like to see a trail from Petaluma to Jack London State Park. And why didn’t Petaluma purchase that parcel by Helen Putnam that is so beautiful to connect to the park instead of letting a developer ruin such a jewel? Let’s get a plan of action to identify land that is of special significance surrounding Petaluma and preserve it.”

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“Petaluma has horrible streets, which take a toll on one’s car alignment, suspension and tires. The problem as I see it is the city is doing nothing to reign-in the overly generous, lavish pensions of city employees, especially those in public safety. The city’s pension obligation will only continue to grow and consume a bigger portion of the budget. These employees have outrageous pensions that we taxpayers working in the private sector can only dream about, but we are on the hook to see our tax dollars go to pay these pensions at the cost of other city services.”

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“Police and fire are the most important. Because if we don’t feel safe in our communities then none of the rest matter.”

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“Really think we need more police officers but I can’t take driving on the roads anymore!”