City of Novato, CA

The Novato City Council meets every 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month at Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue. . 

Always check the Agenda to determine the correct meeting location and time. Live captioning and assistive listening options are provided during meetings.

Provide online public comments to the City Council using  eComment. The eComment period opens when the City Council agenda is posted online and closes 3 hours before the meeting begins.

Comments can also be given during the meeting in-person. Public participation options will be available on the agenda, which will be posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting at novato.org/agendas. 

Watch meetings live in-person or streamed online at novato.org/watchmeetings.

City Council meetings are rebroadcast Thursdays at 10:00 AM on Comcast Channel 27 and Planning Commission meetings are rebroadcast Wednesdays at 10:00 AM on Comcast Channel 27. Meetings will replay at other times as well when space is available, the rebroadcast schedule can be found online at cmcm.tv.

Past City Council and Planning Commission videos are available online at novato.org/watchmeetings.

Contact:
Email: mmilberg@novato.org
Phone: 415.899-8904

Term Information: Currently serves as Mayor; Appointed on August 23, 2022 by Resolution No. 2022-069 in accordance with Elections Code Section 10229. Up for re-election in November 2024.

District: 5

Education: BS in Human Development from UC Davis, a MS in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley and an MBA from San Francisco State University.

Community Involvement/Boards and Committees: Mark served on the Novato Citizens Finance Advisory/Oversight Committee beginning in 2018, and prior to his appointment to Council served in the role of Vice Chair.

Professional: An employee at Ultragenyx, a local biotech company, Mark is their current Senior Director of Clinical Outsourcing.

Contact:
Email:  toconnor@novato.org
Phone: 415.798.6159

Term Information: Currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem; Appointed by the City Council to fill an unexpected vacancy on February 14, 2023. Up for election in November 2024.

District: 3

Education: BA in Business & Marketing from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

Community Involvement/Boards and Committees: Tim served on the City’s Finance Advisory Commission since 2016, and prior to his appointment to Council served as Chair of the commission.  He has dedicated years of volunteer time to the Meadow Park HOA in Hamilton, the Bahia HOA and various service committees throughout Novato.

Professional:  Tim is the Director of Finance and Business Services in the Office of the Chancellor at UC Berkeley. 

Contact:
Email: peklund@novato.org
Phone: 415.883.9116

Term Information: Served as Mayor in 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2003-2004, 2007-2008, 2012-2013, 2015-2016 and 2020-2021; Up for re-election in November 2026

District: 4

Biography: Raised in Terra Linda, Pat is a 49-year Novato resident who lives in Ignacio.

Education: Undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University of California;
MS, Public Administration, Golden Gate University; MS, Environmental Management,
University of San Francisco

Community Involvement/Boards and Committees: Currently, Pat serves on the Board for the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership - a joint effort between the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties, and California School Boards Association where she served as President twice. Pat also serves on the Environmental Quality Policy Committee for the League of California Cities, Executive Board for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) where she represents the 11 cities throughout Marin County; she also serves on ABAG’s Regional Planning Committee and Administrative Committee. 

Pat also serves on the Major Crimes Task Force for Marin representing the 10 member cities; Board Member of the Hamilton Restoration Advisory Board; Rotarian; neighborhood leader and active community volunteer for local activities such as Career Days in local schools, Native Sons of the Golden West 4^th grade essay contest, and Read Across America at Olive Elementary School. Pat also serves as the alternate to the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM). Pat is also a member of the Novato Historical Guild, Sierra Club, Marin Conservation League, and an honorary member of the Indian Valley Artists. 

Pat has previously served on the Novato Planning Commission, Board Member for the Novato Community Hospital and the Marin County Flood Control Board, President of the League of California Cities, Novato Representative on TAM, and Board Member of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART), Public Safety and Revenue and Taxation Policy Committees for the League of California Cities; and, President of the Cities, Counties, and Schools Partnership.

Professional: Pat retired after serving over 43 years with the federal government where she served 7 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 36 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an Environmental Manager overseeing environmental-protection programs including the Underground Storage Tanks, Ground Water, Ocean Dumping, Wetlands Protection (Section 404) of the Clean Water Act, San Francisco Bay, and the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System programs.

Contact:
Email: rfarac@novato.org
Phone: 415.798.7172

Term Information:  Elected to City Council in November 2022; Up for re-election November 2026.

District: 2

Biography: Rachel grew up in San Rafael, where public service was a family-held value. Her father and brother are firefighters; her grandmother was a teacher, one grandfather was a mounted police officer, and the other was a union plumber. The Novato City Council appointed Rachel to the Novato Planning Commission, where she served for two years. The Board of Supervisors appointed Rachel to the Mental Health Board, where she authored a resolution and advocated for converting the Mental Health Board to a Behavioral Health Board. Rachel is passionate about environmental policy and met with members of congress to discuss climate change. Rachel bought her first condo in 2007 in Novato and is currently raising her two children, Ethan and Amelia, with her husband, Colm. 

Education: Master of Public Administration- Indiana Wesleyan, Bachelor in Science-Business Management- California State University- Chico, Certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace, University of South Florida.  

Community Involvement/Affiliations: Marin County Mental Health Board Chair and Member (2018-2023) Planning Commission ( 2020-2022), Soroptimist of Novato (2019- current), Novato Leadership Graduate and mentor( 2019-2021),  Sonoma/Napa Junior League member ( 2018- current), and Marin Environmental Forum  Master Class Graduate (2019).

Professional: Rachel is the Hub West Deputy Lead at Michael Baker/Resilience Action Partners, overseeing the FEMA- Community Engagement and Risk Community contract focused on flood mitigation. Rachel manages the strategy, projects, and resourcing needs of the western United States. Before that role, she started Pristine Builders Group, a residential construction company, working in project management and medical device sales. Her first job out of college was working with the small business community in Novato. 

Contact:
Email: swernick@novato.org
Phone: 415.302.9514

Term information: Served as Mayor in 2023 ; Elected November 2019. Up for re-election in November 2024

District: 1

Biography: Susan was raised in Mill Valley by civically minded parents who both served on their local city council.

She is a 37 year resident of Novato and the mother of two adult sons, Stacy and Ben. Throughout their childhood, Susan was an active volunteer in several organizations including the Novato North Little League and the Cub Scouts. She also spent many years volunteering in various roles at San Ramon Elementary and Sinaloa Middle School. Susan enjoys personal fitness, hiking, and has recently discovered mountain bike riding on the local trails of Novato.

Education: Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts, College of Marin

Boards/Committees: Susan was appointed to the Novato Planning Commission in 2014, and served as chair in 2017. She vacated her seat upon election to the Novato City Council in 2019.

Community Involvement: Susan participated and graduated from the Novato Chamber Leadership Program in 2017, a program that encourages community engagement at the local level.

Susan was a board-member on her neighborhood San Marin Improvement Association which sponsors several annual community events and keeps residents apprised of local concerns.

During the update of the Novato Housing Element in 2010, Susan was invited to serve on the City Manager’s Housing Working Group. The process lasted 9 months and spurred her interest in local government.

Susan is a founding member of two local groups, the San Marin Compatible Housing Coalition and Novato Forward.

The mother of an Army Captain, Susan is also proud to be a Blue Star Mom. 

Professional: Prior to raising a family, Susan was employed by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Companies in San Rafael. While raising her children, Susan assisted her husband Rick in his Novato insurance agency.

With a lifelong passion for interior design, Susan also completed several design courses through the UC Berkeley Extension and the College of Marin. Leveraging her skills in drafting, space planning, and color theory, Susan went on to successfully work as an assistant manager at a local home furnishing business until the store closed in 2010.

Susan then went on to work as an assistant store manager at a national window covering business also located in Novato.

In 2017, Susan accepted an offer to assist in the re-opening of the home furnishing business in a different Novato location. Again working as an assistant store manager, Susan collaborated with the rest of the management team on all aspects of the business including the selection and purchasing of store merchandise. She also managed the respective inventory in an ERP based point of sale system, and provided helpful and personal customer service.

Councilmember compensation
Detailed elected official compensation for calendar year 2020

At their September 29, 2020 meeting, while addressing the City's budget deficit, the Novato City Council directed staff to reduce the bi-weekly councilmember stipend by 5% effective on October 25, 2020.*

* Effective July 3, 2022, the Novato City Council salaries will revert back to their pre-pandemic rates.

The City Council Members are elected officers identified in Government Code Section 87200 and file statements of economic interests with the City Clerk's office.

Copies of the statements of economic interests filed by the elected officers may be obtained by visiting the offices of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) at 428 J Street, Suite 620, Sacramento, California 95814 OR the Novato City Clerk' office at 922 Machin Avenue, Novato, CA 94945.

The statements of economic interests for some state and local government agency elected officers may be available in electronic format on the FPPC's website.