Tuesday, July 16, the SEIU 1021 members who keep Sebastopol functioning – including maintenance workers, water treatment operators, and building department support staff – took on Sebastopol City Council during their bi-monthly meeting. Their objective: to stress the importance of public services and avoiding future bankruptcy. These SEIU 1021 members were joined by the city’s police officers to emphasize the importance of putting a modest half-cent sales tax on the ballot for November.  

“The work that your humble public servants do every day is often invisible, but it is very real: parks, roads, water, sewage, and more,” said Pattie Murphy, senior administrative assistant with the City’s building and fire departments. “The reality is that Sebastopol has a steep budget deficit. If we want to maintain these critical services, we must place a modest sales tax on the ballot.” 

The City’s general fund pays for services including police, fire, parks, and other services and infrastructure. For years, the City has relied on one-time funds – those that will not be available in the future – to fund ongoing services. This has not been sustainable, especially as the City is in a structural budget deficit. 

According to a recent City Report, “Recent road assessments found roughly 40% of the city’s streets and roads were in either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition. Current estimates suggest the city needs about $1 million a year to maintain our assets such as parks, the senior center, and to protect our streets from further deterioration. Modest improvements to our local streets and roads will require an additional $1.4 million annually.” 

SEIU 1021 members lobbied hard for this sales tax. Prior to this city council meeting, the SEIU 1021 City of Sebastopol bargaining team held one-on-one meetings with four council members to share their perspectives about the importance of public services and avoiding bankruptcy.

At 11:33PM, all 5 city council members unanimously voted to place the sales tax on the November ballot.

SEIU 1021 members will continue their advocacy by knocking on doors and speaking with voters about the importance of this modest sales tax.