Barry
10-21-2018, 08:43 PM
I support both these measures!
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Sebastopol residents get to vote on two tax measures in November
(https://Sebastopol residents get to vote on two tax measures in November)
MARY CALLAHAN
THEPRESS DEMOCRAT | October 18, 2018, 4:35PM
Sebastopol city officials say they’re planning for financial security and future liabilities in submitting two tax measures for voter approval on Nov. 6.
One, Measure Q, would extend indefinitely an existing half-cent sales tax.
The other, Measure R, would raise the transient occupancy tax paid by hotel guests and other overnight visitors from 10 percent to 12 percent. Both require approval by a simple majority of voters to go into effect.
Combined, the two measures would account for about $2 million a year in mostly continued revenue for Sebastopol’s general fund, through which the city pays for “essential services” like police and fire protection, roads, public infrastructure, recreational programs and city staff.
With a general fund of about $8.8 million this fiscal year, revenue collected through the two taxes makes up a significant chunk of what’s needed to run the city, while setting aside emergency reserves exhausted during the recession a decade ago, officials said.
“We are a teeny, tiny city — $8.8 million general fund budget,” Councilwoman Una Glass said. “That’s not that much money.”
Moreover, while the city counts about 7,500 people among its residents, Sebastopol is a hub for tens of thousands of others in the west county who shop and work there or simply travel through on a daily basis, contributing to wear and tear on roads and greater demand for police and other services, Glass and fellow council members said.
That same dynamic means much of the tax would be paid by the estimated 50,000 people who do business in Sebastopol.
“There’s not a lot — at least that I’ve heard — a lot of controversy over it,” Mayor Patrick Slayter said. “I think the residents realize the council has been responsible and prudent with the funds.”
There are, however, ...
Continues here
(https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8847860-181/sebastopol-residents-get-to-vote?sba=AAS)
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2015-10-04_15-56-29.png
Sebastopol residents get to vote on two tax measures in November
(https://Sebastopol residents get to vote on two tax measures in November)
MARY CALLAHAN
THEPRESS DEMOCRAT | October 18, 2018, 4:35PM
Sebastopol city officials say they’re planning for financial security and future liabilities in submitting two tax measures for voter approval on Nov. 6.
One, Measure Q, would extend indefinitely an existing half-cent sales tax.
The other, Measure R, would raise the transient occupancy tax paid by hotel guests and other overnight visitors from 10 percent to 12 percent. Both require approval by a simple majority of voters to go into effect.
Combined, the two measures would account for about $2 million a year in mostly continued revenue for Sebastopol’s general fund, through which the city pays for “essential services” like police and fire protection, roads, public infrastructure, recreational programs and city staff.
With a general fund of about $8.8 million this fiscal year, revenue collected through the two taxes makes up a significant chunk of what’s needed to run the city, while setting aside emergency reserves exhausted during the recession a decade ago, officials said.
“We are a teeny, tiny city — $8.8 million general fund budget,” Councilwoman Una Glass said. “That’s not that much money.”
Moreover, while the city counts about 7,500 people among its residents, Sebastopol is a hub for tens of thousands of others in the west county who shop and work there or simply travel through on a daily basis, contributing to wear and tear on roads and greater demand for police and other services, Glass and fellow council members said.
That same dynamic means much of the tax would be paid by the estimated 50,000 people who do business in Sebastopol.
“There’s not a lot — at least that I’ve heard — a lot of controversy over it,” Mayor Patrick Slayter said. “I think the residents realize the council has been responsible and prudent with the funds.”
There are, however, ...
Continues here
(https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8847860-181/sebastopol-residents-get-to-vote?sba=AAS)