Sedona AZ (May 10, 2019) – The city of Sedona invites interested residents to apply to participate in a work group to explore the city’s expenditure limitation options in advance of the November 2020 election.
As background, every Arizona city or town has a state-imposed expenditure limitation, or a cap on spending, unless voters approve a separate expenditure limitation. The most common options elected are Home Rule or a Permanent Base Adjustment (PBA).
Most recently in 2018, Home Rule, which allows cities to set their annual adopted budget as the spending limit, was approved by Sedona voters. Home Rule authority is limited to four years each time it is approved by voters. However, voters in some cities in Arizona opt to pass a PBA, which establishes a new base and, therefore, a new cap on spending. This can reduce and potentially eliminate the need to seek voter approval for Home Rule every four years. Because a PBA replaces the state-imposed limit, it can also serve as a fallback option in the event Home Rule is pursued, but not approved, by voters.
The Sedona City Council identified exploring expenditure limitation options as a priority and directed staff to analyze if a PBA is a worthwhile option. To respond to this directive, Financial Services Director Cherie Wright will lead a work group of seven or so citizens with diverse backgrounds and views on spending to evaluate the different expenditure limitation options. This evaluation will be brought to city council for feedback in January 2020.
“It has been a few years since the expenditure limitation options that are available to the city have been evaluated. It is important to periodically review these options and determine the best approach for meeting the desires of the community as they change over time,” says Wright.
It’s expected the work group will meet every 4 to 6 weeks starting in June 2019, for up to three hours at each meeting. Topics that will be explored include:
- Evaluation of expenditure limitation options and a potential PBA
- The city’s budget and accounting
- Arizona expenditure limitation rules
- Discussions with representatives from other cities with PBAs
- A review of historical financial information
- A review of future potential financial decisions
The city invites anyone who is interested to apply before May 23 by filling out the application located on the web page https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4987687/ELO-Application.
For more information contact Citizen Engagement Coordinator Lauren Browne at lbrowne@sedonaaz.gov.