The Spin Bin

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In the past, the County had tentatively offered roughly $3 million to the project. That is still up in the air, but Tibbetts has high hopes.

Sebastopol Mayor Diana Rich, who has long been a supporter of homeless housing on this site—first as Horizon Shine and now as Gravenstein Commons, was elated by the news.

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Sebastopol Yesterday Explained

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In the meantime, Mayor Rich is basking in the afterglow of a successful meeting.

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More of the Same Part 1

More of the Same Part 2

More of the Same Part 3

Getting the Word Out 2022 Style Part 1

Getting the Word Out 2022 Style Part 2

Getting the Word Out 2022 Style Part 3

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These rate hikes are based on a new rate study by city consultant, Raftelis. They are designed to put the city’s two enterprise funds (water and sewer) back on a firm financial footing. Revenue from ratepayers for both water and wastewater hasn’t been enough to cover expenses since 2019-2020, depleting the funds’ reserves and, in the case of wastewater, requiring infusions of cash from the city’s General Fund. This year, the city had to subsidize the wastewater fund by $1.1 million.

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That threat was just one of several pieces of new information that allowed the item to be reconsidered. Other new information included the increase in RV camping around the site; the fact that the $6.5 million in state funding for the project remains available; a recent change in policy that would allow eight or more of the units to go to former Horizon Shine residents or other homeless people in Sebastopol; and the fact that SVdP’s offer of five temporary RV spots in Santa Rosa for former residents of Horizon Shine is no longer available.

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Our City Attorney and Police Chief weren't at liberty to provide this level of detail during last night's council meeting, but they were willing to do so here the next morning? What a difference a day makes!

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How did we get here? The Proposition 218 violation documented in this cost allocation study played a significant role. A forensic allocation study of the last many years seems appropriate...

The spin: Proposion 218 violation? What Proposition 218 violation?

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Time to Poison the Wells and Murder the Women and Children?

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"She also expressed a concern that backing out of this project could backfire, leaving more people living on the streets of Sebastopol."

The implication noted above was debunked by Jack Tibbetts during the May 16, 2023 council meeting.