George,

I think City Council needs to work on a budget which:

1. Provides adequately for the School Board Budget to ensure a raise for education employees, maintaining the fine and practical arts program in the schools, having early childhood classes for EVERY child who is eligible and providing adequate benefits for schools employees and their families.

2. De-privatizing trash and recyclable collection
and maintaining the public employment status of street maintenance personnel. Our public service employees do a much more efficient job than the contracted company that does trash pickup. They better care of citizen property and are much better mannered.

3. Maintain flower beds and plantings in median strips.

4. Adequately fund fire, police and social service agencies. Also continue assistance for SHE, FOCUS and the Free Clinic .

5. Encourage more construction of affordable housing, establishment of affordable child care and ensuring a living wage for public employees and any worker in a project under contract to the city.

6. I'd also like to see the council review parking fine structure and make fines for private citizens who block traffic, park in loading zones when not loading, park on sidewalks and driveway aprons like those levied on construction vehicles and contractors' vehicles and commercial vehicles that do the same things, sometimes all day, every day for months or even years, seemingly with impunity.

Consideration should be given to lifting restricted parking regulations on spaces in the 3 block area around the east end of the downtown mall when there are special events in the amphitheatre on weekends and Summer Tuesday evenings when the municipal band plays. There are whole blocks reserved for police and court vehicles that are not used in the evenings and on weekends. The Police have their own parking garage.

Martha Wood (electronic mail, January 21, 2004)