Well, where to begin? I guess the first thing I’ll say is that Maine’s weather patterns make it difficult to maintain anything outdoors. Any homeowner knows this. I’ll be repainting my porch again pretty soon.
Tough Maine winters and ice heaves tear up the road, along with all the salt that has to get laid down to make it safe to drive in a storm.
The men and women of our DPW are hard workers, like any of us just trying to earn their paycheck and get home to their families. In the winter, many of them are on-call, waiting for a storm to happen so they can go and make the roads safe. So we have to start this from a place of respect, because it is easy to be on the outside looking in at a DPW operation and assume that it is wasteful with manpower or money.
The DPW budget accounts for about 10% of the total city budget. If we were to make any cuts there, it would have to be on the grounds of making the department more efficient, with much feedback from the department itself and from residents. I hear about our city streets a lot from Bangor residents, but none of us is an expert on the subject.
Trash
One thing I would like to see is the cost of an extra trash can drop from $260 a year to at least $200. Ultimately, I would prefer people be able to throw out as much trash as they have, but that may take some doing.
Did you know up in Milo, you just throw out all the bags you want, and a truck comes around with some guys and they pick up all the trash? The only thing they ask is that you bundle your cardboard. Milo pays way lower taxes than us, but enjoys such luxury. Doesn’t seem fair.
As city councilor, I will explore ways to make the cost of taking out the trash more reasonable, whatever that entails.
All Sidewalks Matter
At least over here in the Fairmount neighborhood, DPW has a tendency to plow only certain sidewalks. Pedestrians matter as much as people who ride to work, and in the winter it can be a safety hazard to have people walking out in the middle of the plowed street because the sidewalk has 3 feet of snow on it.
Sometimes I wonder if it has to do with me that they don’t plow my side of the street.
As your city councilor, you can use my number (2079513685) to call or text me when there are problems like this, as well as any other problems with DPW, and I will pass them onto the people in charge there. We all pay for this stuff, it’s not right that only certain groups get to enjoy it as it’s meant to be enjoyed. (Why are you plowing Ambureen Rana’s side of the street, but not mine?)