Michelin’s North Bay food ‘stars’ The 2024 California Michelin Guide awardees were announced last month—with Sonoma and Napa restaurants maintaining several “stars,” but none receiving new stars this year. Michelin’s renowned restaurant ratings are considered among the most prestigious in the industry. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic areas. Only two notable changes this year: Barndiva in Healdsburg lost its star after shifting gears from fine dining to a more casual café. Meanwhile, its fellow Healdsburg restaurant Molti Amici was given Bib Gourmand status, which acknowledges impressive food at a reasonable price. Here is a list of the North Bay restaurants that made the coveted Michelin-star cut: n 3 stars: SingleThread (Healdsburg) n 1 star: Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford); Auro (Calistoga); Cyrus (Geyserville); Kenzo (Napa); Press (St. Helena)— RP The 707
Molti Amici
Why would the City of Sebastopol loan itself $1.1 million—and then charge residents 2.99% interest on the loan? That was the burning question west-county residents were asking this summer following a Sebastopol City Council meeting that saw city leaders approve a $14.3 million budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. City of Sebastopol makes loan to self; mulls charging residents interest
The loan—whose funds are coming from the city general fund into the city’s wastewater fund—has taken place incrementally since last November and was implemented to fiscally float the city’s cash- strapped sewer department until revenues from a recently approved water- and sewer-rate hike kick in. In June, the council approved a 37% rate water/sewer increase this year, followed by 3.5 to 4% increases the following four years. Customers will pay an estimated $43 per month more the first year alone, according to city projections. The interest on the loan was baked into the new rate beginning in 2025, city officials said. However, faced with negative community feedback, the city council this week unanimously voted to drop the plan to charge water/sewer ratepayers any interest. Loans from one city fund to another are common in municipalities struggling to cover their books, and interest on such loans aren’t unprecedented.
Sebastopol City Hall
Still, the subject of the loan and its interest has been riddled with miscommunication between the council and city staff throughout the process. Council members only seem to have become aware of the months-long transfer of monies between the two funds in March, after staff produced a backlog of late budget reports dating back to November 2023, when the city first began transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars per month from the general fund to the wastewater fund. While getting council approval for such transfers is advised, it is not legally required, Sebastopol City Attorney Larry McLaughlin wrote in an earlier email to City Manager Don Schwartz, which was obtained by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat . And since March, while city officials held several meetings about the new rate structure when the interest rate on the loan was brought up, council members seemed entirely unaware interest would be covered by rate payers. Councilmember Sandra Maurer conceded Tuesday that the charging of the interest “escaped [her]” and described it as “quite an insult.” The confusion and consternation over the new water/sewer rates and the intra-fund loan come at a less-than-ideal time for Sebastopol, as city officials are also asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase on the Nov. 5 ballot in order to close a $669,000 budget gap. — JW
12 NorthBaybiz
September 2024
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