Petaluma workers hammer council's growth policies

<p>After enduring pay cuts, unpaid furloughs and layoffs of coworkers, Petaluma employees are challenging the City Council to bring in jobs and revenues “to protect Petaluma's quality of life.”</p><p>Unions representing nearly all of the city's 300 employees<NO1><NO> have formed an informal alliance called the Coalition of Petaluma Employees, or COPE.</p><p>COPE workers wearing “Dedicated City Employee” stickers and police officers in their union shirts filled City Hall June 7 as a split council adopted a budget that drains general fund reserves to $5,000. Three years ago, those reserves stood at $8.2 million</p><p>And in the past two weeks, the police union bought half-page advertisements in The Press Democrat and the Argus Courier newspaper calling the council on the carpet.</p><p>“Much of Petaluma's financial crisis is self-inflicted,” the ad states above the large image of a Petaluma police badge. “We had a reasonable expectation that our city leaders had a plan to bring about economic recovery — they do not and our community's economic future appears even more bleak today,” it states.</p><p>Although the advertisement doesn't name specific council members, it is clear it targets the four-member slow-growth majority that has sought strict management of developments.</p><p>Two of those council members dismissed complaints voiced in the ad.</p><p>“It's not based on facts. It's not the truth,” said Councilman David Glass, who is seeking the mayor's seat in November.</p><p>Union leaders say employees feel the city has betrayed them by cutting workers and seeking salary concessions while delaying approval of tax-generating businesses that could alleviate budget woes.</p><p>The ad says the council “has done nothing to streamline the approval of two major retail centers, which combined, promise to generate millions of dollars annually in new revenue for city services and thousands of new jobs.”</p><p>After six years in the planning stages, the council recently approved the East Washington Place shopping center, which is to be anchored by a Target and possibly a Friedman's Home Improvement store.</p><p>In another long-proposed development, Deer Creek, city planning staff has said additional study is needed to determine what negative effects a planned Lowe's home improvement store might have on the city.</p><p>“We had problems with what we felt was inaction by the council on a lot of these development projects,” said Doug Silacci, president of the largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. </p><p>“Time and time again, the projects were running into brick walls. We wanted to make sure our voices were heard by the council: ‘you need to get on the ball and get some of these projects moving, so we can get some retail money.'”</p><p>Police detective Paul Gilman, president of the union that represents about 75 police department employees, said the ad didn't intentionally single out the council's slow-growth majority.</p><p>“But when you're the head of the city . . . you have to take on certain responsibilities,” he said.<NO1><NO></p><p>Councilwoman Teresa Barrett, who announced last week she is seeking reelection, said there are no simple answers to the budget problems.</p><p>“Anyone who says there is doesn't understand it,” she said. “There are some problems you just can't develop your way out of. I think they know that. They are operating from a position of fear.”</p><p>Barrett said she and the other three council members who voted to approve the budget “were standing behind the employees” by depleting the reserves instead of laying off more workers.</p><p>Business-friendly Councilman David Rabbitt, who is endorsed by Petaluma police in his run against Mayor Pam Torliatt for the 2nd District seat on the county Board of Supervisors in November, said employees have a right to feel concerned about the council's direction.</p><p>“Part of it has to do with a lack of consensus-building. It's always us vs. them and ‘we know better.' It shouldn't be that way. You should allow people to vent their opinions and be taken seriously. The employees are feeling like they're being written off by certain members of the council.”</p><p>Gilman, the police union president, said the employees' primary goal is to play a leadership role in Petaluma's financial future.</p><p>“Let's do something,” he said. “This has been going on too long.”</p>