Sebastopol faltering under growing deficit

Discussion Tuesday evening to focus on bitter pills to fill funding gap

photo credit: Courtesy, googlemaps
Sebastopol City Hall...City leaders face a ballooning budget hole and few good options.

City meetings in Sebastopol are likely to be lengthy and at times contentious this week...

That's as the city council tries to address a growing budget shortfall.

According to a consultant report, Sebastopol is spending $2.9 million more than it is taking in.

And that's excluding another $1.4 million to keep pace with needed street repairs.

While the figure isn't huge, Sebastopol's population is small, totaling just over 73-hundred residents, according to a 2022 US Census estimate.

A number of options to close the deficit are being proposed. These include: higher sales taxes, selling city property or establishing an 'enterprise infrastructure financing district,'

Other ideas include increasing building fees and removing bans on chain stores.

Tuesday's council meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m.

The council is also scheduled to again consider a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.