Can any numbers geek analyze these data? Does Sebastopol have a higher sales tax income/inhabitant than some other cities in the county such as Santa Rosa?

This would suggest that people in West County spend $$ in town while their place of residence falls under county governance, and hence places a burden on the county budget?

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https://yourtown.pressdemocrat.com/2...-other-cities/

Sebastopol avoids budget anguish facing other cities
Posted by editor in Sebastopol on June 2nd, 2010 | no responses
By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sebastopol has avoided the problems plaguing most cities and is projecting a balanced budget for this next fiscal year.

“It’s a good place to be,” said City Manager Jack Griffin.

The City Council got its first glimpse of the budget Tuesday night. The city’s general fund budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year is proposed to be $4.97 million, a reduction of $145,000 from the current year.

The general fund budget is for city administration, police and fire, recreation and community services, development services and public works.

The total budget when sewer, water and redevelopment is included is $11.4 million, an increase of $304,000 over the current year.

The budget includes cuts in the city’s individual departments of $219,000.

The largest cut was in the police department, where the retirement of a lieutenant is projected to save the city $115,600.

In a city as small as Sebastopol, that vacancy is felt in the budget, Griffin said.

“Those things are not rounding-off issues for us,” Griffin said.

The police department is also the largest part of the budget, allocated $2.7 million in the next fiscal year, a decline of about $67,000 from the current budget.

The city also has a volunteer fire department with a budget of $532,000, a slight increase over the current year.

The city’s two major sources of revenue, property taxes and sales taxes, have essentially been flat for the past three years, Griffin said.

Property taxes for the city are projected to decline slightly, by $20,000 to $1.05 million for the next fiscal year.

Even as housing values have plummeted, it has affected Sebastopol less than others in Sonoma County, Griffin said. The city’s housing market has had little turnover and fewer foreclosures than other areas and there are 100 new low-income units that have come online in the past year, he said.

Sales taxes are expected to decline from $925,009 in the current year to $920,835 in the next fiscal year. Griffin said Sebastopol’s limited retail base of stores, restaurants and hotels remain a regional draw in west county.

The loss of tax revenue has also been offset by a utility tax passed by voters in 2008, which raises $360,000 a year.