By Jean Jenks, Sedona Resident
(March 24, 2018)
(In a Sedona Eye comment) Steve Segner says: March 20, 2018 at 4:30 pm — “Robert Smith I am hosting a meeting on home rule April 10 at 8:30at the Sedona rouge I’m going to have theCity manager come and talk about home rule and how it will affect the city and also about the upcoming $30 million traffic plan financed by the half cent sales tax”
According to Arizona Revised Statute 9-500.14 Use of city or town resources or employees to influence elections; prohibition; civil penalty:
“A. A city or town shall not spend or use its resources, including the use or expenditure of monies, accounts, credit, facilities, vehicles, postage, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, web pages, personnel, equipment, materials, buildings or any other things of value of the city or town, for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of elections….
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11 Comments
Jean, good point. Thank you for making the folks aware. It will be interesting to see if the city follows the statute.
Look. I don’t consider myself a Conservative but I do agree with their basic tenet — the less government the better! Having the State of Arizona as our nanny puts way to many cooks in the kitchen and creates another layer of government between our city government and its people.
This is our money and no one has the right to decide where and how much to spend but us. Why in the name of democracy would we give the state that kind of power over our money? It ain’t gonna happen.
Now. If we want to talk ineptitude by government in expending tax dollars and budgeting or malfeance, then the public simply votes the offenders out of office and replaces them with elected officials that will keep things within a budget the people deem fair.
That’s an option and right we Americans enjoy. Someone in office screws up? We vote them out and elect people who can get the job done right. Plain and simple!
Our right to home rule is inviolate.
Tommy says:
“Now. If we want to talk ineptitude by government in expending tax dollars and budgeting or malfeance, then the public simply votes the offenders out of office and replaces them with elected officials that will keep things within a budget the people deem fair.
The U.S. government is set to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year, an 84 percent jump from last year
Conservative, small goverment HUMMMMMM ?
It was another crazy news week, so it’s understandable if you missed a small but important announcement from the Treasury Department: The federal government is on track to borrow nearly $1 trillion this fiscal year — Trump’s first full year in charge of the budget.
That’s almost double what the government borrowed in fiscal 2017.
Here are the exact figures: The U.S. Treasury expects to borrow $955 billion this fiscal year, according to documents released Wednesday. It’s the highest amount of borrowing in six years, and a big jump from the $519 billion the federal government borrowed last year.
“A. A city or town shall not spend or use its resources, including the use or expenditure of monies, accounts, credit, facilities, vehicles, postage, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, web pages, personnel, equipment, materials, buildings or any other things of value of the city or town, for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of elections….
Tommy says the electorate can replace inept elected officials by simply voting them out of office. Does he live in Sedona? Mayor Moriarty ran unopposed in 2016. Similarly with former Mayor Adams who ran unopposed one election.
The City’s 2018 Budgeted Expenditures are $47,752,118 while Estimated Revenues are but $37,762,477. Not only is City spending out of control, but so is the City staff. More hotels, more traffic, more tax and spend, more pissing away our quality of life, more lack of inclusion, and more beloved special interest are the wrong way to go. Vote NO on Home Rule.
Yes. For abut 15 years. I was the editor of a newspaper in Sedona called “The Sedona Times” until our publisher Rita Livingston took ill. When people run unopposed it means one of two things. They are that good no one wants to run against them or no one has the guts. Home Rule rules! (:->
F.Y.I. Says: The Citys 2018 Budgeted Expenditures are $47,752,118 while Estimated Revenues are but $37,762,477. Not only is City spending out of control, but so is the City staff.
FYI.
The city income has been over budget the last several years due to increase in bed and sales tax.
Sedona is now using the surplus to work on long over due projects.
Some cities borrow money for projects Sedona saved up for them, great management.
And just how do you know the city has a surplus of employees?
You know more then the city manager or the city council?
HOW ….. You have gone to all the budget meetings ? Talk is cheep.
FYI why no name ? Talk is cheep.
steve segner is wrong. Although the city income has been over budget for the last several years, the City’s ACTUAL EXPENDITURES have exceeded ACTUAL REVENUES for the last several years according to the City’s OFFICIAL BUDGET FORMS (C & T Document) filed with the State of Arizona.
Sedona does not have a surplus. Instead of borrowing money (the City already has an outstanding bond debt of approximately $30 million), the City sales tax was increased from 3 percent to 3.5 percent on March 1, 2018. Yavapai County Sedona’s sales tax rate is now 9.85 percent while Coconino County Sedona’s is a whopping 10.40 percent.
City management does an ineffective job of representing public interests and Sedona residents.
Tourists crowd our highways and streets and use half of our city police and fire district services.
Sedona’s 10,400 population requires 142 full-time equivalent city employees. This amounts to 1 employee for a population of only 7,324. The population served should be far higher.
steve segner is wrong. Although the city income has been over budget for the last several years, the City’s ACTUAL EXPENDITURES have exceeded ACTUAL REVENUES for the last several years according to the City’s OFFICIAL BUDGET FORMS (C & T Document) filed with the State of Arizona.
Sedona does not have a surplus. Instead of borrowing money (the City already has an outstanding bond debt of approximately $30 million), the City sales tax was increased from 3 percent to 3.5 percent on March 1, 2018. Yavapai County Sedona’s sales tax rate is now 9.85 percent while Coconino County Sedona’s is a whopping 10.40 percent.
City management does an ineffective job of representing public interests and Sedona residents.
Tourists crowd our highways and streets and use half of our city police and fire district services.
Sedona’s 10,400 population requires 142 full-time equivalent city employees. This amounts to 1 employee for a population of only 7,324. The population served should be far higher.
UPDATE: The meeting Steve Segner said he would host April 10 has had a change of subject from Home Rule to “What is the City Doing About Traffic?” It’s about the City’s ongoing plans to utilize the one-half percent City sales tax increase effective March 1. Same time and place.
By the way, Sedona’s sales tax rate in Yavapai County is now 9.85 percent while in Coconino County it’s 10.40 percent.
Home Rule, (Alternative Expenditure Limitation) is a pretty straight forward concept to understand. Essentially, it boils down to: do you want some State commission of bureaucrats and other politicians with no connection to Sedona who work at the State capitol in downtown Phoenix making decisions about how local tax dollars are spent in Sedona? Or, do you want your local elected Sedona officials and citizens make those decisions?
I would think that even the most conservative anti-government folks and politically perverse pundits would agree that it makes more sense for these decisions to be made at the local level where the citizens have more direct control of how the money is spent. If you can’t see this logic, then you are either stupid or just one of the “small people.”
And, if you are really unhappy on how the local tax dollars are being spent, then do something about it. Run for office, or at least get involved, volunteer for a citizens committee.
Precisely, Tim.
I find it unfathomable that anyone would wish to relinquish our dominion over our money to some cigar-chomping state bureaucrats who know nothing about Sedona.
It’s obvious this is going to be a major issue for some as we get closer to election time. I predict the people of Sedona will vote “Yes” for home rule as they did before and those wishing to give away our rights to “Big Brother Nanny State” will be badly dissapointed.