SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Dover assessment

Readers reacted to Monday’s story about Dover City Council paying $100,000 to have an outside company review the city’s police, fire and EMS services.

•Looking at a 100 percent volunteer fire department is a waste of time and money. If the study comes back and says they need career firefighters, it will never happen. Looking at the EMS/police side is all that is needed. This should have been out as a RFP as per the city’s purchasing policy. One-hundred thousand dollars is a large price tag for something when taxes were raised 19.9 percent. — James Sack

•You’re forgetting that while the fire department may be volunteer, that they still need money to operate, and that money comes from the city. And unlike most of the other fire companies in the state, Dover is the only one that actually answers to a city or county (as per the city’s charter). So if Dover determines that they need to have career firefighters, then they’ll do it — Brian P Slattery

•A balanced and unbiased review of every taxpayer or civic-funded organization is a good thing on occasion. Who knows, we might learn something. So what’s wrong with that ? Keep in mind, the fire department is primarily volunteer, but it does receive many, many hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars to operate. — Dave Bonar

•Correct me if I am wrong, Mr Bonar, but isn’t the entire Dover Fire Department volunteer? Using the term “primarily” is misleading and out of context. It’s entirely volunteer. You and I both know the city of Dover can not afford a fully paid career fire department. The Dover Police Department is top notch and make best use of the resources provided to them by a micromanaging city.

Just like the sneaky property tax hike and the increase in electricity, this is another sneaky agenda item that came out after the election. Notice none of our elected officials brought any of these items up prior to the election. This is a total waste of money on every level. Put the money into training for the police, fire and EMS service or to address the homeless issue in downtown — better yet, education! — Jim Barlow

•So we are told we have to have taxes raised for more police officers, then why do you need an assessment report after council voted to do that? Wasting our money seems to be a trend. Unbelievable actions. — Debby Slaughter Messina

Roundabout reactions

Tuesday’s story discussed DelDOT looking at a roundabout for a busy intersection at Willow Grove and Moose Lodge roads.

•I wonder if there will be any solution that someone won’t complain about? The good thing about a roundabout is that it will slow the traffic down. Will there be accidents? Sure, but very likely not to the degree we see there now.

I live one mile from this intersection and I agree that something needs to be done. Is a roundabout the best option? I don’t know but I can see the advantage to it versus a four-way stop or even traffic lights. Because we all know that people run stop signs and lights. Doing so at 60-plus mph will cause a lot more drama. — Dallas Jake Glass

•Roundabouts can work just fine if they are engineered correctly. Grew up (in New Jersey), there are at least four “circles” on Route 70 on the way to Seaside Park. If not for those, traffic would be horrible in the summer with beach traffic. Now these little tiny four-car roundabouts they make in Delaware are not productive. Hopefully it is designed properly. — Sandy Evans Primo

•The article says that one of the main issues is the speed of the vehicles on (Route) 10, but traffic on 10 does not have a stop sign. So if 10’s traffic had to stop that would reduce the speed. Then even if someone does run the stop sign the collision would be at much lower speeds, reducing risk of fatality. I agree something needs to be done but I am not yet convinced that it has to be a roundabout.

If it turns out that a roundabout really is the best solution then I am all for it. I just want to know that other, less costly solutions have been explored, since that’s our tax dollars going to a million-dollar intersection. — Amanda Oberdick

•A traffic circle is DelDOT’s attempt at redesigning the wheel. They had some major screw-ups with the proposals around West Middletown, so now it’s Camden/Wyoming’s turn to see what fits. Eventually they’ll get it right when a “new” engineer, in 10 years, suggests a traffic light. — Leo E. Gracie

• A four-way stop sign would be much better. Roundabouts really don’t make sense. I travel this road daily and know something needs to be there but a four-way stop or a red light would be much better! — Jennifer Lloyd Dill

•Isn’t there a lot of farm equipment on that road? How will a roundabout affect them? The one on Mifflin Road is one of the most ridiculous things ever. It’s so small it’s almost impossible to stay within the lines in a normal vehicle.

People still don’t understand the right of way at it. Circles in New Jersey are just that — circles, things you have to drive around to get to the next road that you need. They typically connect four or five roads. That’s not an issue here so circles are pointless here.

Block the shoulder, put flashing red lights up, leave a few cops around to enforce it for a while and you will quickly see people get used to it. Midstate Road used to have the same problem. — Tracey Moore

•No light. You will have traffic backed up to Petersburg. Block off the shoulders so (drivers) can’t pass a turning car and you avoid 90 percent of the accidents there. (With), all the truck traffic on the road, they will have trailers wrapped around the roundabout. — Eric Carlson

•Save yourself some money and block the shoulder completely so that the idiots who can’t read a sign can’t even get to the shoulder to pass as the sign clearly says not to do! — Sherri Farmer Baynum

Dover tax increase

A July 3 letter by Valarie Matthews was headlined “Dover needs to get real on tax increase”

•Thank you, Ms Matthews. A lot of us are thinking exactly the same thing. We got our tax bill from the city today (due July 31) and our tax increase for 2015 is 31 percent, including the Dover City Council’s insane spending and the city’s new assessment. That guy who shows up at every City Council meeting and demands a tax increase must be absolutely shivering with glee over this doozy of an increase. — Bob Hartman

•I can’t believe there wasn’t a public referendum on this tax increase. The city of Dover is literally sitting in urban decay with no new business and all they can think about is increasing taxes on its property owners who are already financially strapped? Incredible to say the least. — Thomas Leone