A NOTE FROM ROBERT JACOB...

Last night I was honored to be unanimously selected by the council to be Sebastopol's mayor for this upcoming year.

Thank you -- to the citizens who elected me and to the council for appointing me to be mayor -- for this amazing opportunity!

As mayor, I look forward to furthering the accomplishments we made in 2013 into next year. So much has happened here in Sebastopol over the last year. The council and staff have built an ever stronger relationship with each other and the community. The Barlow is filling out nicely, new parks have been established, and we continue to work towards ways to save money for a rainy day, and this is in large part to Councilmember Kyes, who just finished a banner year as mayor.

As mayor, Mr. Kyes consistently beat the drum for increasing Sebastopol's reserves. Sebastopol was able to maintain excellent service to the community during this recession for two main reasons. First, our city staff was willing to defer raises and benefit increases in order to stretch our local tax dollars. Second, our city had a reserve account to see us through lean times.

Councilmember Kyes is committed to increasing this account balance. He is a leader on this issue, always looking at ways our city can save money while increasing revenues. His most important work building our financial buffer will continue through this next year as we develop other creative revenue sources in order to bring our long-term financial health back on track after tumultuous financial times.

I also appreciate Councilmember Kyes' attention to detail. His ability to dive into the nitty-gritty pieces of any project, a budget, a design, is laudable and ensures that Sebastopol is moving in the right direction.

I am excited to announce that Councilmember Patrick Slayter is now Vice Mayor Slayter. Also selected unanimously, Patrick has the backing of the council to step in and lead our city in a new way. He and I work well together, and I look forward to his guidance and assistance in integrating local business, sound environmental policy, social justice, and general welfare for our residents and visitors alike.