Special tax off the table as Sebastopol council declares fiscal emergency

In a 3-1 split vote, the Sebastopol City Council on Tuesday declared the city is in a fiscal emergency, but decided a parcel tax ballot measure is not the way to address its budget woes.

The fiscal emergency resolution is essentially rhetorical, since it doesn’t specifically call for a special election to put a general sales tax measure before voters.

An emergency resolution that would have led to a 1/2-cent sales tax being placed on the March 2024 ballot failed on Nov. 14 to gain the unanimous approval it needed, with Council members Jill McLewis and Sandra Maurer opposing it.

The fiscal emergency resolution is “not tied to any other action,” said Alex Mog, the city’s outside legal counsel on the issue. “It’s really just about options that the city could do internally.”

For example, Mog told the council, “When you move forward with your budgeting process it could be a basis to use that as sort of a statement in order to propose cuts and things like that. It’s simply adding an emphasis. But without that unanimous approval you’re not able to put a general tax on the ballot.”

The city is dipping into its reserves to meet a $1.67 million general fund deficit, and according to the projections of a council budget subcommittee and staff will run out of those reserves in three years.

But Maurer and McLewis, who was absent Tuesday, had questioned the projections, saying previous forecasts have been widely off.

“These numbers didn’t pan out. You’re talking on relying on projections into the future that historically haven’t played out,” Maurer, who recently joined the budget subcommittee, said Tuesday.

Council member Stephen Zollman, who also sits on the budget committee, said that current and recent budgets have included one-off infusions of funds, including federal COVID-relief monies, insurance payments, and one-time bequests to the city’s police and fire departments.

“I’m looking forward to when everybody has a bigger and more in-depth understanding of the budget to be able to figure out that there have been one time contributions consistently since 2018,” he said.

Zollman, Vice Mayor Diane Rich and Mayor Neysa Hinton supported the resolution, which Maurer also opposed.

“It’s a message to the community about the dire nature of our fiscal crisis,” said Rich.

The council at the same meeting considered but opted 3-1not to pursue a parcel tax measure, suggesting it would be an incomplete solution that would also fall inequitably on smaller businesses and property owners.

Zollman was the lone voice in support of placing a $300 parcel tax measure on the March ballot.

“With what we just passed here, as far as an emergency, I think we need to act as if we are in an emergency and try and get some money in as soon as possible,” he said.

The council pointed toward placing a sales tax measure on the November 2024 ballot.

“I think waiting until November is a good idea. I will support coming back to this and looking at that at that time,” Maurer said.

The council in August voted 3-2 — with Maurer and McLewis opposed — against a special election on a sales tax that would have gone to voters this month. That decision was based partly on a desire to avoid competing with a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax measure on the March ballot — the Sonoma County Fire Prevention & Response Measure. The countywide referendum would direct $1.2 million annually to Sebastopol’s fire department.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay