Sedona, AZ … An Editorial by Tommy Acosta…

Talk about naïve perspectives. Why would those on the council against paying a new city manager up to $180,000 think they could prevail against those who want to go up that high?

The budget, the current economic situation, reason — none of these mean anything. What really matters is that it’s always going to be a 5-2 vote no matter what on issues where the factions disagree.

So why fret or waste any more ink on what it is going to cost when there is absolutely nothing anybody can do about it?

A recent question raised by media peers is why the council did not offer former-Sedona City Manager Eric Levitt a 20 to 30 grand raise to stay on and avoid the hassle and expense of a new search.

Some feel Eric did a good all-around job in his position. Councilors sung his praises. The council, when hearing of his intention to leave, could have offered him more money to remain.

They could have stayed ahead of the curve and pre-empted his departure. Then again, Mr. Levitt could have been so determined to leave Sedona before the storm, nothing could have deterred him.

What did he know that the council did not?

A question arises: will Sedona ever have a real leader who can set goals and an achievable vision that would position the community to be able to survive the global-economic collapse predicted by SVVT writer Rick Normand?

Even if the city is able to hire a bona-fide leader, that new-city manager would have to dance to the tune played by the ruling -council faction to keep his lucrative job. That of course, would limit the creativity and energy that individual would bring to the position, and given the current state Sedona is in and direction it is going, it would be business as usual for the city.

It’s a lose-lose situation all the way around.