Despite a last ditch effort to restore city funding for the Sedona Film Office, the local arts, and other local programs, Sedona Vice Mayor finally relented and voted to approve the city's $44 million budget cap in a 6-0 vote.  Said Bradshaw, "I'm going to vote for the budget under protest."

Sedona budget passes despite last ditch effort to restore city funding

Vice Mayor Bradshaw fights to save city funding for film office and other local programs

By Carl Jackson

SEDONA, AZ (June 24, 2009) - At yesterday's Sedona City Council meeting, Vice Mayor John Bradshaw made a final attempt to restore funding for city programs that have been caught in the budget crossfire as the city grapples with an economic slowdown and local construction.

A vocal dissenter during the budget process of cuts in what he considers important local programs, the Vice Mayor made one last ditch effort to sway the other council members' hearts and minds by proposing that $80,000 currently included in a $200,000 contingency reserve for the 89A Redevelopment Plan be sliced off and used instead to back $40,000 for the Sedona Film Office, $30,000 for local arts programs, $2,600 for Sedona Recycles, and $7,500 for the Sedona Community Center, among other items. 

He had an uphill battle.

Recently, Councilor Nancy Scagnelli successfully initiated a private donation drive for the Sedona Community Center, raising over $10,000 for its Meals on Wheels program; and Councilor Pud Colquitt said that "Everyone like the film office and the library have adjusted, and that's a good thing.  It's healthy."

Perhaps given that his father Bob Bradshaw has been an important figure in Sedona's film history since 1945 serving as location scout, stuntman, and even actor, it's understandable that the Sedona Film Office might hold a special place in the Vice Mayor's heart.  Bob Bradshaw passed away last year.

According to Sedona Chamber CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff, the Chamber has already laid off the staffer responsible for the film office. Said Wesselhoff, "We cut the position from full time to part time about two years when the city cut funding by about 20%.  [Although we're eliminating the position now], we intend to keep the film office open and have it absorbed by existing staff, but we will not be proactively promoting Sedona as a film location destination."

The Vice Mayor cited a $583,000 contingency reserve set aside as part of the budget that could be potentially tapped if the economy improved as the reason for his proposal.  Bradshaw's reallocation wouldn't change the $44,522,917 budget cap, just reallocate potential expenses within it.

Said Councilor Dan Surber, "I don't understand.  Do you want to just reallocate funds from the contingency reserve or are you asking the council to release that money now to fund those programs?  The [contingency reserve] is money we haven't decided to spend yet."

Councilor Nancy Scagnelli asked if these programs could be funded later in the year if the city sees that the financial picture is improving.  Said Scagnelli, "My concern is that we are not going to come in with [our budgeted] flat revenues this year.  I hope not but then we're spending the contingency reserve to cover that."

Said Assistant City Manager Alison Zelms, "Some of those programs need to have certainty of funding for planning purposes."

Said Councilor Colquitt, "My personal opinion is that we're far from getting out [of our economic problems].  It took a long time to get into this mess, and it's going to take a long time to get out of it."

Mayor Adams questioned whether reallocating money to local programs in light of city staff salary and benefit freezes as part of the budget process would be appropriate. Said Mayor Adams, "What are we doing to staff if we do this?  We're sending a bad signal to staff."

In the end, the Vice Mayor relented saying, "I'm going to vote for this under protest.  I hope city staff knows that I think they are doing a fantastic job.  I'm going to get off my soapbox."

The City Council voted 6-0 to approve the budget as originally proposed.

According to Wesselhoff, small film productions like documentaries, TV series, and commercials can bring in anywhere from $7,500 to hundreds of thousands of revenue per day.  This includes hiring crews and actors and using local services. Said Wesselhoff, "We estimate that the film office brought in $1 million in revenue, not to mention the free publicity we get for Sedona by having it featured in films. Of course only 3% is [sales tax] for the city, and the city council decided that it's not something worth funding from an economic return standpoint."