Raleigh OKs budget without separation pay for Firefighters

Raleigh OKs budget without separation pay for Firefighters

The Raleigh Fire Department (RFD) is at least 200 firefighter positions short. When including the current 50 known vacancies, they are 250 firefighters short of the manpower needed to fully protect this City today. Raleigh has not added any new firefighter positions since 2014, while experiencing rapid population growth and development. Let’s be clear. RFD is requesting the same benefit paid between retirement and age 62 that RPD officers have been receiving since 1987.

Vote for Streamside Option by 6/11

Vote for Streamside Option by 6/11

The “streamside” option along the Big Branch creek would route the connector across city and little used private pieces of land. It already looks like a greenway and avoids car and truck traffic. The two other options the city lists would bring greenway users into regular contact with cars, trucks and service vehicles. If the city selects either of the two options going through this neighborhood, it will be devastating for a long surviving Raleigh neighborhood and it will be a radical, very un-greenway greenway project. Either of these two options would be more of an urban path than actual greenway as the trail would move along roads, across one street, and require the cutting down of many of the currently surviving trees and bushes in the neighborhood, leaving a pavement-centric greenery-bare trail.

The Duty of City Council

The Duty of City Council

The late great James West served on this Council from District C for ten years. Dr. West said “It is not the duty of City Council to ensure developer profits. The duty of City Council is to serve all the citizens of Raleigh, to improve their quality of life.”

Noise Terrorism

Noise Terrorism

There needs to be a moratorium on amplified sound from Raleigh businesses until you can come up with a solution to this never ending citywide problem.

Trust and Transparency

Trust and Transparency

The 2030 Comp Plan was planning for a population of 600,000 when it was envisioned. We are not close to that. Mitchell Silver was hired to see the Comp Plan and UDO completed. Mitchell said that this would streamline development and get rid of “spot” zoning. Councilor Silver, how many times did you say, “just follow the plan”?