Tammy Pust Takes a Look Back

Roseville Patch recently conducted a Q and A by e-mail with outgoing Roseville City Council member Tammy Pust.

Pust, who has been on the Council since 2006, earlier this year decided not to file for re-election. Below, is our interview with her:

Patch: What are you most proud of accomplishing on the city council?

Pust: I’m proud of a lot of my work:

• the ImagineRoseville 2025 community visioning process I lead in which we engaged over 200 residents in conversations about what kind of community we wanted Roseville to be in the future;
• the work we did to strengthen the penalties for illegal sales of alcohol to minors to better keep our kids safe and healthy;
• the work we did to make government processes more transparent and predictable by improving our contracting and financial reporting processes.

But most of all, I’m proud that I was able to help communicate to the public what their city government does and how it works. 

Throughout my years on the Council, people often stopped me out in the community and thanked me for being a calm, direct and rational voice during Council discussions, a voice that allowed them to better understand what was going on and why.  I consider that very high praise, and always tried hard to be worthy of it.

Patch: Was there anything that surprised you or that you didn’t expect about serving on the council?

Pust: I didn’t anticipate that all of it would be so interesting and that all of the City staff would be so amazing at their jobs.  Roseville’s professional staff comes to work every day to do what they think is best for the residents. They get up early to plow the roads so the rest of us can get to work on time.  They show up when someone is hurt or in trouble, such that we all feel safer in our daily lives.

  They try to make sure that strong businesses locate here so that the rest of us can get good jobs and find places to buy the things we need. While we pay the taxes to pay for the services we need, they provide those services every day and they do so in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.  I didn’t expect to be so impressed with their professionalism and community commitment, and was really proud to be able to be a part of their important work for the time that I served.

Patch: What are your plans after leaving the council?

Puist: I plan to stay actively engaged in my community – and to spend more time walking my dog on Monday nights

Patch: What do you think Roseville’s main challenges are in the future?

Pust: While Roseville is a special place to live and has a unique community character, its future challenges are the same as the challenges all community’s face:  the economic realities in our region, state and nation; the need to continually do more and better – with less resources; the continual aging of our housing stock and infrastructure; and the limited opportunities for redevelopment. 

Roseville has some amazing resources that will make addressing these challenges easier than it will be elsewhere:  active and engaged residents and diversity of people and opinions - which will lead to better solutions.

Patch: Is there anything else you want to say to Roseville residents?

Pust: Thanks for the honor of allowing me to serve.