From: Kate Haug
To: Mary Gourley
Cc: Kevin Kilgore
Subject: Support Items #5 and #14 - Support Vital Public Services and Community Safety - Public Comment 2/15/22 Date: Friday, February 11, 2022 9:43:46 AM
Dear Council Members,
I am writing in support of Agenda Items #5 and #14, the purchase of a much needed fire engine and crucial staffing for our Police Department.
As a community, we need to invest in our vital City Services as they are underfunded and understaffed.
Our fire and police departments are foundational components for public safety, especially as we are a community prone to wildfire where we need to have skilled professionals in place to help with evacuations and other emergency situations. We have many elderly people in our community who often need extra help during evacuations.
We are also part of a rural community where departments often aid one another.
We need to prioritize tax dollars toward investment in our public services and infrastructure to make sure we have the staffing and equipment we need to ensure community safety and wellbeing.
Our fire equipment is old and outdated. We need to make sure that we are not putting our firefighters into unnecessary peril because their equipment is old and unsafe.
The key finding of the Council's audit of the police department was that it was understaffed.
Thus staffing and funding the police department will improve its performance and its role in service to the community.
Thank you for supporting our police and fire departments.
Kate Haug
Sebastopol