From: Shawn-Paul O'Dell & Joyce Grabarczyk
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 6:16 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: Public Comment Agenda Item #14, on City Council Compensation.
May 19, 2026
Subject: Public Comment Agenda Item #14, on City Council Compensation.
Dear Staff and Council,
After reading the report I find it interesting that it is a newer councilmember should be the one wanting more money for his time. After reading the report I also see that the level of compensation has stayed the same for a long time, and that other areas around us have given increases in compensation. The one lacking thing from the report is what other benefits councilmembers receive from Sebastopol and other cities. It is estimated from the report that councilmembers spend 8 hours a month at regular city council meeting as well as many undocumented hours doing other events. I would have hoped that a report like this would have had more information on total time spent or at least a reasonable estimate of time spent on other duties.
Looking over the report on Compensation I liked how Windsor’s council members are compensated and I would support something similar for Sebastopol Councilmembers. This provides accountability for their compensation. I would recommend leaving the base payment at $300 per month and make each meeting attended somewhere from $50-100 to a maximum compensation of $950 per month. I also feel that the position of Mayor and Vice Mayor are honorary titles in Sebastopol and should not receive any different compensation from other councilmembers.
Thank you,
Shawn-Paul O’Dell
Resident City of Sebastopol