Amid controversy, Petaluma will give staff $1K bonuses, upgrade facilities with coronavirus relief money

The Petaluma City Council pushed forward with plans this week to spend nearly $8 million in federal coronavirus relief funding, tapping the one-time money for city facility upgrades, a tiny home village for homeless residents and $1,000 bonuses for city staff, among other proposals.

The controversial spending decisions came two weeks after sharp public criticism led a gridlocked, six-member city council to delay approval. Residents Monday cautioned elected leaders to avoid rubber-stamping what many saw as a lightly tweaked spending plan.

But with a full, seven-member council on hand for Monday’s meeting, the largely split board approved all but $650,000 of the $8.3 million the city has received as part of President Joe Biden’s $350 billion American Rescue Plan Act.

“We have a long list of needs in this city, and I think that is an undisputed fact,” said council member Dave King. “I was prepared to support the staff report two weeks ago…I’m ready to make a decision (now).”

With King leading the way, the council took five votes on 13 items, including a unanimous decision to draw on public input to allocate $650,000 in monies originally earmarked for utility payment relief. With state legislation – and state funding – expected to fill that gap, city leaders opted to set aside that portion for other priorities.

A plan to spend $1.7 million for interim housing solutions, such as a tiny home village, for the city’s homeless residents, as well as a $2.5 million proposal for HVAC and coronavirus-related safety upgrades at city facilities garnered unanimous approval.

But council members split decisively on other initiatives, including earmarking $500,000 to remodel the Petaluma Police Department and spending $800,000 to replace a Petaluma Fire Department truck.

Council member D’Lynda Fischer, who voted against both measures, and was the lone dissenting vote on the city’s plan to give staff $1,000 bonuses, said she was more reserved this week than when the council met previously to discuss the spending.

“I’ve had a couple of weeks to settle down,” she said. “But I’m still riled up.”

Fischer said the COVID-19 relief money provided by the federal government shouldn’t go toward fire trucks and city staffers, arguing there’s greater need in the community. Although she praised city workers as “awesome,” Fischer said the money was better served elsewhere.

“We have 600 utility customers who can’t pay their utilities, who owe an average of $1,100 each,” she said. “Those are the people we need to be supporting.”

Fischer and Vice Mayor Brian Barnacle, who also voted against a host of spending proposals, channeled the frustrations of a vocal group of residents who called the moves, in turns, tone-deaf and shameful, including one woman who likened the absence of climate-related spending to “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

“I would like for you guys to get re-elected,” resident Beverly Alexander said during the meeting. “And when you do things like this, it gets pretty chancy.”

The Petaluma Chamber of Commerce stood firmly behind the original staff proposal, though, backing the majority of council members who had few qualms about the spending package introduced two weeks ago.

“As the staff report correctly states, the city’s needs are vast,” the chamber wrote in a statement to the city council. “Given the intense demands on the city’s resources, we could all come up with our own list of priorities and how to spend the (money). However, all of the items identified by city staff in the spending plan are needed and staff has made a reasonable effort at a balanced allocation.”

Council member Kevin McDonnell, who was on vacation when the board failed to reach agreement two weeks ago, agreed, saying he was excited about proposals to serve homeless residents, improve public safety facilities and ensure coronavirus-safe city facilities.

“I’m impressed at the breadth of services,” McDonnell said.

Tyler Silvy is editor of the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Reach him at tyler.silvy@arguscourier.com, 707-776-8458, or @tylersilvy on Twitter.