PD: Sebastopol residents get to vote on two tax measures in November

[Barry]

I support both these measures!


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, ...

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[MikeH]

Sebastopol does not have that many hotels and the TOT boost would not raise that much.

The increased transient occupancy tax would raise an additional $100,000 a year or so for Sebastopol.

But I would be more concerned about what exactly this part means:

means it’s unlikely there ever will be a time the city doesn’t need the special sales tax in place, particularly with a looming pension liability estimated at more than $12 million, Mayor Patrick Slayter said.

That cannot be an unfunded liability, I don't think. Or maybe it is and will need to be paid off over a number of years. I would like clarification. I know CalPERS has not been collecting enough, and is now requiring cities that participate to cough up more in the way of pension contributions, to make up for the deficit. This will apply to Sebastopol. Meaning more money given to CalPERS to make up the deficit, and less money for ongoing operations, like paying salaries for fire and police personnel.

IMO Santa Rosa is in deep trouble as far as pensions. Their fire and police are an even bigger percentage of the municipal budget. And the extra they need to send to CalPERS is a bigger problem. According to this, they are putting up an extra $11 million per year, just to go to CalPERS and their deficit.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinio...e-huge-pension

The city of Santa Rosa paid $11 million in unfunded liability costs last year but is expected to pay $41 million in 2023. From another perspective, the UAL cost is expected to climb from 7.6 percent of the city’s current general fund to 26 percent by 2023. This means the city will need to find $30 million in additional annual revenues over the next six years to cover its UAL cost.

Similar costs will be incurred for the smaller cities of Sebastopol, Cloverdale and Sonoma which, based on CalPERS figures, are expected to see their unfunded liability costs triple from a combined total of $1.4 million last year to $4.5 million in 2023.