Sedona, AZ — Sedona voters are facing another “Home Rule” campaign, and if the “No” arguments feel familiar, that’s because they are. Same arguments, largely the same voices, every four years, for over a decade. The villain changes each cycle – roundabouts, housing, roads, a particular councilmember – but not the rhetoric. It’s like shouting “fire” on a four-year cycle.
It’s strange and frustrating because each time since 1996 the majority has approved Home Rule. They understand the difference between “I’m unhappy with a specific decision” and “let’s kill the mechanism that pays for police, roads, parks, and non-profits to the standards Sedona expects.”
If You’re Upset About Spending, There’s A Process For That
The anti-Home Rule activists resurface in a predictable cycle, not offering input into next year’s budget, but running a campaign to blow up the funding structure entirely. If the goal is to choose good projects and improve fiscal management, that energy would be better spent in the budget process than in an anti-Home Rule ballot measure campaign.
What’s Actually At Stake
Home Rule doesn’t raise taxes and never has. It simply sets a city budget ceiling, based on the revenue the city already collects – responsive to local conditions and local needs.
This year, however, voters are being enticed with a risky alternative: kill Home Rule and live with annual budget override votes in special elections, until a Permanent Base Adjustment (PBA) is approved.
What could go wrong? Special elections have always existed but are rarely used, for good reasons. Preparing for and winning a special election comes with no guarantees. It’s costly, and if a vote fails, it leaves the city with service cuts for up to two years, until a PBA is approved and/or Home Rule restored. Override votes can fail.
Special elections might sound appealing, but they can favor special interests. With turnout typically smaller than in a regular election, a committed, organized group can swing the outcome and push through unrepresentative results.
How many of us are eager to vote annually on a complex and hard-to-understand budget? Even Councilors must catch their breath after the exhausting budget process (speaking from experience). With a low turnout, will a majority truly rule, or the most organized minority?
I can’t see a single reason to advocate for the death of Home Rule.
What’s my advice? (Yes, I’ve been asked by Sedona voters.) Vote YES on Home Rule. Then we embark on the PBA conversation – as soon after this election as we can bear. But please know the conversation won’t be simple. Many won’t have the time or the energy to fully engage. That’s understandable. And in the end, Home Rule might still be the best approach.
Vote YES On Home Rule
Submitted to Sedona.biz on 7/1/26 by Pete Furman. Pete Furman and his wife Lisa live in West Sedona. Pete has served on the Sedona City Council since 2022 and is not seeking reelection. When not riding either his road or mountain bike, Pete keeps local area doctors gainfully employed. The opinions expressed here are his alone and do not represent the position of City Council or city staff.
