By Steve Segner: —
Sedona, AZ — In an article published by Sedona resident, Tim Perry, in an online Sub Stack publication, he made strong negative accusations about the city after reviewing the salaries of Sedona city staff.
One of the things he said was, “Here is your regular reminder of the comfortable lives led by the city of Sedona’s staff, funded by your tax dollars. This year’s rundown of city staff salaries shows they have reached new heights, with forty-five regular staff—twenty-two percent—now earning $100,000 or more, up from 28 last year. These employees can afford homes in Sedona, paid for by the rest of us—if they choose to live here at all.”
Response to Mr. Perry
In his article, Mr. Perry referred to the City of Sedona and its employees as “parasites.” That kind of language may generate attention, but it does nothing to improve the conversation about how our community actually works.
Sedona functions because people do their jobs. Police officers protect the public, road crews maintain streets used by millions of visitors, transit drivers move hikers and tourists off crowded trailheads, and city staff manage the infrastructure that keeps this town operating. Calling those people “parasites” is not criticism—it is simply an insult directed at working people.
What Mr. Parry also overlooks is a basic fact about Sedona’s finances: a large portion of city revenue comes from visitors, not residents. Tourism generates the sales taxes that support public safety, road improvements, parks, transit, and other services that residents rely on every day.
In other words, Sedona has built a system where the people who enjoy the town help pay for the services that keep it functioning.
Reasonable people can disagree about how government should operate. Sedona is not an inexpensive place to live and work; the salaries the city pays reflect the wages needed to attract and retain seasoned, responsible individuals. That debate is healthy.
I’m sure you’ve heard stories about the challenges of recruiting for the school district, the city, and other organizations, which end up with loosely qualified candidates because they can’t find an affordable place to rent or buy that fits their budget.
But when criticism such as Mr. Perry’s is reduced to name-calling, it ceases to be a serious discussion of policy and becomes little more than political theater.
Sedona deserves a better conversation than that
—Steve Segner, Sedona resident
5 Comments
Yes this is a interesting as I have to explain to my very young Sedona friends. See back in the day, the 60s and 70s people worked for government as their first job, to get experience. Boy have times changed!
Now listening to experts had we raised minimum wage with inflation for the last 50 years, it should be $35 and hour or more. This is the start of the problem.
Now government jobs have always followed COLA, and appear to the not paying attention crowed very high.
See starting in the 80s, was a big change. Destroy good blue collar jobs, get ride of unions, outsource those good jobs so CEOs can get millions. At the same time they made it so pensions could be the thing of the past, and healthcare if you got it, consider yourself lucky.
So when so few make millions and billions, the rest wonder why. Can you imagine what it is like to be in your 20 or 30s now? Wages low, no perks or benefits. Maybe a 401K?
To bad so many people voted for the outsourcing, cheered the elimination of unions. To only pass down to generations work harder make less. I guess the same anti-government of the 80s is alive and well. Bitch about it, point fingers, but not pay attention to when it happened and by whom?
I find it interesting when the solution to everything is a free market. The free market that will cut corners for profits. A free market that suppresses wages for more profit. Government isnt about profits, its about helping people. If you dont see that, that is sad indeed!
“Reasonable people…” are no longer out there and “…name calling..” is no surprise. “These” name calling people reflect the president who has a very long history of showing disrespect to his perceived enemies. (With him you kiss his a– or you are a Cockroach.) If you are an elected official he will call for you to be ” primaried” in the next election rather than accepting another persons point of view.
What is worse (as if that could happen) is the only Republican politicians willing to call him out for his lack of respect towards others are those not running for re-election.
So America, keep it up and act like a president. Tell your child’s referee to (________) , tell your spouse to (________), and children it is time to act like an “adult” and tell you parents to (____).
What is going on with “…name-calling,..” is people just acting “presidential” instead of acting civil.
Wow! After working my ass off for the City of Sedona for 24 years, 15 of those years as the Community Development Director, I had no idea my title was actually “Community Development Parasite”. Thanks, Tim, for letting me know I was only a parasite for all of those hard working and stressful years.
City employees making $100K and $150K a year can afford some criticism. or does that kind of money not buy thick skin or a spine? Don’t think it’s enough? Quit. I used to run an HR department, I’ll take your job happily for that salary. So would half of Sedona.
How much did they pay lobyist “Steve Segner, Sedona resident” for this drivel?