What's the story behind Measure U? How did we get here?
Full disclosure: I believe in Measure U, the half cent sales tax measure for Sebastopol. I’m not a big supporter of taxes in general, but I’m absolutely 100% certain that we need this sales tax. All of us who live here, shop here, have businesses here need Measure U. We need an infusion of funds to finally bring us out of the 2020 COVID disaster. The City limped along after COVID hit, making huge cuts, and using up one time funds and reserves in the hopes the economy would recover.
The City had reserves in 2020. The Hotel Sebastopol was on schedule to break ground that Spring. We all knew a new hotel could bring in close to $1,000,000 annually to Sebastopol. We really were sitting pretty. The future looked golden.
Then we turned the calendar page to March of 2020. No-one could have predicted what happened that month, and no-one wants to think about COVID. It was a dark time. It’s easier to forget it, but it was truly awful. It hit everyone, all of us individually, in groups, and as a town.
We all thought the economy would eventually recover. It hasn’t. Retail sales have not shifted back from online to our brick and mortar businesses, tourism is still down, the Hotel Sebastopol still hasn’t opened its doors, and….to make things worse, the cost of supplies and materials is still going up. These costs make running the City more expensive, and it also makes it more expensive for employees to live here…which makes it more expensive to recruit and retain quality employees.
So here we sit in 2024 with a $700,000 projected deficit this year and over $2,000,000 in future years. Our reserves, plentiful before COVID, are projected to go to zero in 2026. They did their job to get us through the crisis, but they're almost gone now.
Our City staff is working at max capacity, still answering the phones with smiles in their voices, still processing building permits in record time, still responding with speed to calls about infrastructure concerns, law enforcement and emergency services needs, still running as fast as they can to meet the high service demands that we as a town have come to expect.
Today I speak as your neighbor, acting as an individual who cares about this town. I speak from experience and knowledge. I’ve seen the inner and outer workings of Sebastopol - raising my children here, volunteering for SO many wonderful community-minded groups, running the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, and serving as a Councilmember and now as the Mayor.
I’ve done my research and checked and double-checked the data. You know me as that person who “trusts but verifies.”
And yes, I also speak from my heart. I love this town. Always and forever.
Please, let’s support our town, our way of life, our neighbors and elders and children and visitors. Measure U will help us out of this fiscal disaster. Let’s do what we all do best: Come together to support one another and our town. Join the many people who have already endorsed Measure U. Please vote yes on Measure U for Sebastopol’s future.
Resources
Key Points To Consider
- Sunset Clause: Measure U ends automatically in 12 years
- Not Taxed: Groceries and prescription medications
- Can’t be claimed by the County or State (100% stays in Sebastopol)
- Half cent means for example, 50 cents on a $100 purchase
- Audited annually
- Supported by Supervisor Hopkins, all five current Councilmembers, all those running for Council this year, City employees, former councilmembers, and lots and lots of your neighbors.