Poll respondents against roads sales tax

A majority of respondents to a recent Argus-Courier online poll said they would not have voted for a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase if the revenue was dedicated to fix Petaluma’s streets.|

A majority of respondents to a recent Argus-Courier online poll said they would not have voted for a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase if the revenue was dedicated to fix Petaluma’s streets. The city explored placing such a tax on the November ballot, but backed off after the proposal received too little support in polling. About 60 percent of respondents to the Argus-Courier poll said they were against the measure.

Here are some comments:

--

“Absolutely not. We are taxed for too much already and if Caltrans is involved, it would be a total waste of money.”

--

“Yes, but only if there is a sunset clause of five years, there is a Citizen Oversight Committee who gets to weigh in on projects prior to the city’s annual budget adoption and, finally, only if the road tax is for road repair and replacement, not slurry seal or ADA curbs. And absolutely no bike lane creation.”

--

“Exactly how many different taxes are our local leaders proposing this time? It’s almost like they throw these new taxes at a wall to see which one will stick. With home values at historic levels, property taxes do the same. Put me down as a ‘no’ vote.”

--

“Didn’t I recently read that property taxes were creating much revenue already? Let’s use that money instead.”

--

“I am usually not in favor of new taxes for any reason, but the streets are horrific and a purpose-specific tax is the only way the city will ever be able to make it better. I would vote yes.”

--

“No. I think it should be a lesser percentage, and I would voter for that only if there were a definitive term as to when it would end and only if the tax could not be used for anything else.”

--

“No new taxes. The money is there if the city had budgeted competently and spent our taxes on infrastructure priorities not pet projects and ludicrously lavish pensions. Time for them to learn about real life.”

--

“They have to do more than patch holes. I have never seen streets like ours in my life. The rainy season brings large holes in the blacktop and only get patched if someone breaks their axle. It’s ridiculous. Manage your money, or get voted out.”

--

“Yes, but only if there were an outside auditor to oversee the disbursement of the funds, not anyone from the city council or the mayor.”

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.