Sedona AZ (May 17, 2014) – The following is a letter to the SedonaEye.com editor:
https://www.sedonaaz.gov/Sedonacms/modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=22998
Greetings,
From Sedona Resolution 2014-05 copied above, it is apparent that the City of Sedona intends to ignore the will of the voters should they decide to vote against Home Rule/ the Alternative Expenditure Limitation in the coming election.
Instead of cutting expenses or limiting their generosity of Millions of your tax dollars to The Sedona Chamber of Commerce, the Sedona Film Festival and others, the Council will just declare an undefined “emergency”.. They will then spend what ever they feel like.
This is certainly not following the will of the people, and is probably illegal.
Please, vote against The Alternative Expenditure Limitation/home rule. Tell your fellow voters. Please also consider Sedona disincorporation. Our City government is out of control. Remember, Sedona Fire and Sedona schools are NOT part of the City of Sedona.
Tony Tonsich
928-274-6449
For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!
voting no
Even though I don’t know you this is to thank you, Tony Tonsich, for being forthright to use your name and even provide phone number. With all the flack you continue to take from certain unidentified individuals, you have risen above their attacks by your willingness to stand by your convictions and reveal your true identity. You can count on my NO vote, too.
Agreeing with James Harrington, I too find the verbal attacks against you (Tony Tonsich) offensive. If the most they can come up with is some photos of cops having a conversation or some such thing, I do agree that isn’t cause for firing the police department but don’t understand the significance of the issue. Nor do I get the ongoing bitching about the former Fire Department Board. That’s ancient history and completely irrelevant to Sedona CITY government and I’ve no idea who you are or what your involvement was in that dog fight.
However, the real deal is tax and spend. Someone named Jean has also written editorial letters (containing her last name) and made very sensible comments, offering factual information which solidly supports the need to comply with the State spending limitation.
Voter denial of Home Rule would simply put the brakes on foolish spending. Of course, opposition will come from those who attempt using scare tactics as has happened in the past.
Don’t be foolish enough to believe that spending constraints won’t cramp the current style of giving free money to “alleged” non-profits and other foolish “wish list” nonsense without accountability of return on investment. Denying services pertaining to health, safety, and welfare of the general public must be the first consideration. If not we must rely on backup from the Yavapai and Coconino County Health Departments as well as ADEQ to demand for the City of Sedona to maintain even the basic qualities for a safe and healthy existence. Something those in charge appear to have forgotten about.
My vote on Home Rule: NO
Reality check all…James Harrington IS yet another alias for Tony Tonish also known as Richard Saunders..
I think that it’s crazy not to support home rule. The taxes (which are only sales and bed tax) are going to be collected anyway. As residents, we’ll loose the right to decide what services we receive. I feel safe having our own cops compared to the old days with the deputies. Those deputies used to take 45 minutes to come when my neighbor called. These boys from Sedona come real quick and I’d hate to give them up.
With Home Rule those millions of tourists contribute to our tax base. If we paid less sales tax but had a property tax it would only be property owners who pay and it would be in the thousands of dollars for each one of us. I say YES ON THE HOME RULE!
I am voting NO. Thank you.
@Tom G.
Wishful thinking, my man. You are sooo predictable you’re boring. Using your own words, GET A LIFE and STOP with the false accusations. You have absolutely no proof of your allegations and cannot produce because what you accuse me of is a blatant lie. I never heard of Tony Tonsich until you brought up the name and I’ve been posting comments on this site since even before the name was changed to Sedona Eye. More baseless prattle from another ill-informed Sedona moron. Incidentally, to Rose on Coffee Pot: Hellooo! Is anyone home?
PS to Tom G. Your anger is really showing because you neglected to even spell “tony’s” last name correctly. Oops!
No on homerule makes city council follow the law. You will have everything you need. Do not listen to anyone that states otherwise. Please vote NO on homerule. Controls are needed. No equals safety Rose. You’ll still have everything you need. They won’t be able to give the chamber 1.2 million and Film Festival $350,000 every year and fund Mainstreet along with the Winefest! Let their members support the special interest groups. Please vote NO.
@Jack
I really don’t agree with you at all. I have no personal agenda and can clearly realize that by voting yes on the Home Rule also makes city council follow the law. The law is the law and it swings both ways in this instance. It just depends on if you have an agenda.
I can see that the 1.2 million that is allocated to the COC and the $350,000 for the film festival is not money just from my pocketbook, it’s also from the 3.5 million tourists who visit here. Sounds like a win for everyone.
If the city doesn’t allocate that money and the chamber doesn’t do their destination marketing and the film festival doesn’t have that wonderful event along with all of those other fun events, then Sedona will become a boring place and we won’t have all of that extra sales tax coming in. So, all of your nonsense will hurt me and my senior neighbors. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Thank you to SedonaEye for allowing me to voice my opinion.
Idiots. Egotistical, idiots. Too bad this site has been hijacked with such nonsensical misinformation.
@ James Harrington
Perhaps Tom G is on to something, James Harrington says that he’s been on this site since before the name change and yet, if anyone were to do a search of his name on the site, only one posting comes up in the search. Just sayin’
Tom G, I think you nailed it, YET AGAIN!
James Harrinton
Your the one that’s angry my man.
Perhaps because you stand with a man who thinks two police talking to each other for 10 min and a city worker cashing his check at lunch is a waste of tax paper money and takes pictures of such to show us what a astute financial watchdog he is..
Both “Toms”
Not to belabor this but in the blink of an eye (no pun intended to Sedona Eye) I Googled searched my own name and found comments made by me (James Harrington) dated 8/3/10, 9/22/10, 8/4/13, and 9/19/13. I do not have hours to spend appeasing people like you. Susan Kruger is correct. This site has been hijacked with nonsensical misinformation primarily being spewed by “Toms, etal.”
Anticipating you will challenge my remark about having posted comments before this publication changed names, if you check out the “About Us” link at the top of Sedona Eye home page it will verify that it was on the first of January 2011 Sedona Times Publishing went fully digital as Sedona Eye. Therefore my comment dated 8/16/10, under an article dated 8/14/10, did, in fact, appear under the flagship of Sedona Times. My additional comment was posted at a later date (8/4/13) obviously after the publication was Sedona Eye as were the other comments made by me in September of 2013 which is what I located by searching Google.
James Harrington
Makes no sense to me, the only ones paying are the businesses. Controlling the powerful dollar.
All you Tom’s are control freaks. Let the businesses do their own advertising, stop charging and taxes them to death. Let the Film Festival charge $5 more, with all their fans they bring in more money going that direction. Better yet have them contribute to the sales tax basis they have their hand out for.
Same thing goes for the Chamber. Let their members pay. Enchantment already gives them an extra 10k for special treatment. Control, control, control. All this has nothing to do with the city. Why are you all controlling it? Take care of the roads, drainage,and sewer. Bored… go back were you came from. Or better yet pay for your own entertainment. Oy Vey
@Susan Kruger
THANK YOU SUSAN, I completely agree. Mr. Tonsich has been trying to hijack to use for his personal agendas:
1.Get rid of the city government.
2. city employees are over paid
3. The cops take 10 minutes breaks.
4. The cops provide traffic protection for the road workers at Christmas time (gee, one would think that that was their job)
5. I hate this one and that one.
6. If I was running the city, we wouldn’t have meetings because I know better.
on and on.
There’s too much hate coming from this one man using several identity’s (I’m counting 3)
The 2014 Sedona City Budget is about $38,000,000
The Sedona Police Department gets $2-3,000,000
Public Works ( Roads and Drainage) Under $1,500,000
So what most citizens want $4,500,000
Gold plated salaries, bonuses, medical, vacations staff training, gifts to the chamber and the film festival, perks to friends of those in power, Roughly $33,500,000.. Obviously the city does not want to cut any of that, as one of he idiot commenters on here said ” The sky is falling, the sky is falling”. Perhaps it’s falling for the people who get the freebees. Not for those who pay.
Please vote no on the Alternative Expenditure Limitation/ Home Rule
The free spending budget is available for your view at sedonaaz.gov
Alex::
You make no sense!!
The roads seem fine, I see drainage work going on in West Sedona, as far as sewer fees, I don’t mind paying them, beats digging a new septic..
BTW don’t attend the film festival and I’m not interested in free stuff.
Why don’t you stop your bellyaching and crying
@Tony
Let’s take this jealous rage step by step:
Gold plated salaries, CAN WE SAY AT OR BELOW MARKET RATE depending on which position you’re talking about. SOUNDS JEALOUS TO ME.
bonuses. I LOOKED AT THE BUDGET AND NOT ONE LINE ITEM READ BONUS. LAIR LAIR, PANTS ON FIRE.
medical, WHAT PROFESSIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY DOESN’T OFFER MEDICAL COVERAGE. AS LONG AS IT’S MANAGED PROPERLY, AND IT IS IN SEDONA, IT’S A STANDARD LINE ITEM. I’M GUESSING THAT THEY DON’T OFFER MEDICAL COVERAGE AT THAT HOA THAT YOU HEAD, OH THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S NOT CONSIDERED A GOVERNMENT. SOUNDS JEALOUS TO ME.
vacations WHAT PROFESSIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR ANY FULL TIME JOB DOESN’T OFFER VACATION TIME. SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE JEALOUS TO ME.
staff training, OH, WE SHOULD HAVE STAFF AND NOT TRAIN THEM. GET REAL!
gifts to the chamber and the film festival, I DON’T SEE A SINGLE LINE ITEM THAT SAYS GIFTS FOR THE COC OR FILM FESTIVAL. THIS IS JUST YOUR OPINION.
perks to friends of those in power, Roughly $33,500,000.. AGAIN, JUST YOUR CLOSED MINDED OPINION. NOT ONE LINE ITEM SAYS “PERKS TO FRIENDS”
Obviously the city does not want to cut any of that, WHY WOULD THEY, IT’S AN INVESTMENT INTO OUR CITY WITH TOURISTS AND RESIDENT TAX MONEY.
HAY TONY, YOU KEEP ON TELLING PEOPLE TO READ THE BUDGET, I DID AND I ALSO WATCHED THE BUDGET HEARINGS ON THE INTERNET. ONCE AGAIN YOU’RE TWISTING AND MAKING STUFF UP. FREEBEES ? REALLY?
Once again, liar liar.
Tim Ernster, $167,500 salary, $22,000 towards one retirement account, contributions to a second retirement account, $500 per month towards his car.
Full contract available on (Sedona disincorporation website – site links edited)
Assistant city manager $100,000 plus 1 month leave/vacation, her first year of employment. This after leaving her previous employment, Search Karen Daines Sedona on Google.
Every employee gets one month leave/vacation The first year !!!
Account #6009 Employee Appreciation pay $160,080 Looks like a bonus to me.
Take a look at (sedona az website or sedona disincorporation – site links edited) for facts, not juvenile accusations in all caps.
I decided to vote No on Home Rule.
For all the pseudonyms on this web sites, your ranting and attacks helped me make that decision. Thank you!
I operate a family business in town. We hear complaints every day from the TOURISTS about our sales tax rate.
Vote NO on home rule. Be happy.
@Tony Tonisch
I was just reading some of your old postings and saw something from Tom G from a long time ago relating you to someone that works now or used to work for the SFD.
I was just wondering if you complained if he had a PAID vacation, PAID medical coverage or was given training to do his job.
I heard that the SFD pay’s a good standard salary, did you complain back then, that your relative was paid too much or was it OK for him.
I won’t even ask about bonuses because government doesn’t give bonuses.
I think people deserve vacations, but a month the first year? Maybe a week, then you can earn a month after 10 years.
Yes, people deserve a living wage. But when city and government workers are the best paid people in the area, something is wrong. It used to be you took a government job for the security, at a slightly lower rate of pay. Now they want to be paid the same as the guy in New York City, because it is “competitive”. This is a town of 10,000. Most of these highly paid city workers don’t even live here. I think they should be required to.
Yes, the government dose give bonuses. Do a Google search.
That’s right FOOD FOR THOUGHT.. Everything was fine for Tony Tonish when his girlfriend worked for SFD… Salary, vacation, sick leave and health insurance.. I guess it’s ok if he a recipient if those things..
I pretty sure she got fired.? Then in lies his complaints about all things government!!
He has a chip on his shoulder for those that can actually keep thier job..
@ Alex
I work at a business in Hillside. I’ve been asked by tourists about the sales tax as well. When I explain to them that we appreciate their business and that a portion of the sales tax (3%) is used to offset any property tax for the residents. I’ve never had a tourist complain after hearing that. As a matter of fact, they’ve all be very supportive of our city and were happy to pay a bit extra to help us.
That’s a good one. Not true.
When the City of Sedona Incorporated it was promised on NO city property taxes. The sales tax was suppose to pay for infrastructure. Everyone pays county property tax.
Sedona has a population of approximately 10,000 with a median age of 56.1. The population has been dropping off each year.
Many of the employed people today are working part time jobs for $10 to $13 per hour. Meanwhile, the unemployment rates are skyrocketing.
You would think that a person (especially a female) who has reached and surpassed their “sell by date” would have learned about late night drunken text rants and not to do that.
Amazing how anyone would take the word of “Tom G” or “Tom Bergen” especially after showing such class and maturity as “screaming” in CAPS LOCK, “liar liar pants on fire”. My six year old has shown better restraint and maturity. Speaking of six-year olds, and since the Toms love to talk about rumors, I heard that a certain City worker (deleted by editor) …18+.
I’ve checked out that sedona disincorporation website, and was aghast to see who is connected in Sedona and how the money seems to be passed back and forth to a privileged few. That is appalling!
My VOTE is NO for Home Rule.