SedonaEye.com columnist Eddie S. Maddock on Sedona city employees salary and additional compensation packages budgeted for 2024.
Sedona AZ – WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2024?
Boldly and sincerely stated in a video at the opening of City Council meetings is Sedona’s Vision:
“To be a city that is constantly vigilant over the preservation of its natural beauty, scenic vistas, pristine environment and cultural heritage. To be a city that retains its small-town character and creates its manmade improvements in strict harmony with nature. To be a city that is animated by the arts, and lives with a spirit of volunteerism to help achieve our common goals. To be a city that offers equal opportunities for all and fosters a sense of community. To be a city that welcomes and accommodates all of its visitors and future residents with a spirit of fellowship. To be a city that retains and enhances a strong and vital economy which preserves existing lifestyles without exploiting the natural beauty. To be a city that lives up to the challenge of proper stewardship of one of the earth’s great treasures.”
Before proceeding with what may or may not be a surprise to Sedona residents via a Freedom of Information Act, “Douglas Ducey in 2021 was employed in Arizona Governor’s Office and had annual salary of $95,000 according to public records. This salary is 20% higher than average and 36% higher than median salary in Arizona Governor’s Office.” (Phoenix has a population of 1.6 million and pays its City Manager $314,999 annually.)
With the city of Sedona gearing up to prepare its fiscal year 2024 budget, a review of the 2023 budget shows that average budgeted compensation for a city employee is presently $106,174. (Population of Sedona is 9,684 – a decrease from previous years.)
Here is what we pay Sedona city employees:
City Manager Karen Osburn: $183,000. (No change from 2022.)
Deputy City Manager Joanne Keene: $161,850. (A 7.9% increase from 2022.)
City Attorney Kurt Christianson: $155,235. (A 7% increase from 2022.)
Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works J. Andy Dickey: $155,147. (A 7% increase from 2022.)
Director of Financial Services Cherie White: $153,422. (An 8.4% increase from 2022.)
Chief of Police Stephanie Foley: $135,200. (Foley replaced Charles Husted, who retired last fall; the chief position’s salary is an overall 2% decrease from 2022.)
Magistrate Judge Paul Schlegel: $125,008. (No change from 2022.)
Director of Community Development Steve Mertes: $125,000. (No change from 2022.)
Criminal Prosecutor William Kunisch: $120,443. (An 8% increase from 2022.)
Director of Wastewater Roxanne Holland: $119,061. (A 9.6% increase from 2022.)
Information Technology Manager Chuck Hardy: $117,830. (A 6.8% increase from 2022.)
Assistant Director of Public Works Sandra Phillips: $114,660. (A 4% increase from 2022.)
Human Resources Manager Brenda Tammarine: $114,354. (A 7.6% increase from 2022.)
Transit Administrator Robert Weber: $110,850. (A 10.9% increase from 2022.)
Engineering Supervisor Kurtis Harris: $103,000. (Position vacant in 2022.)
Police Lts. Karl Waak and Scott Martin: $103,000. (A 13.2% increase from 2022. Martin is a new hire, replacing the retiring Sgt. Michael Dominguez.)
Network Engineer, unspecified staff: $102,615. (A 5.6% increase from 2022.)
System Administrator, unspecified staff: $102,614. (A 5.6% increase from 2022.)
GIS Analyst, unspecified staff: $102,014. (A 5% increase from 2022.)
Additional benefits over and above wages include, but are not limited to health, dental, and vision insurance coverage plus countless hours of paid time-off; as offered in ads seeking even more City of Sedona employees.
And this, dear readers, is active even during the uncertainty of a predicted economic recession next year.
Impressive?
Suggestion: Reread the “Vision Statement” and then decide.
https://smartasset.com/data-studies/states-most-dependent-federal-government-2023#
Your wrong yes they do… I know the truth hurts you panhandler!!! You got a tin cup?
UAW want FORTY SIX PERCENT INCREASE IN THEIR PAY, Cars poorly made by union workers. Say no to them. Mr Biden sold car production to China and oil to Russia. Well buy from them cheaper No mas robbers
So you have no clue the cuts they took years ago?….Well I hope who you work for screws you even harder…..Pathetic the thinking of anti-union people in this country……….You just might want to learn about middle class prosperity thrived in the 60, and 70, till corporate greed took over. And courtesy of the labor movement!
If every auto worker got a $80,000 bonus they US auto manufacturers would still break their record profits!…. Face it you want millionaire to be billionaires and screw the middle class who has lost more that anyone else since the 80s….Hope you die poor and stupid. you got the stupid nailed down…..
They make $16.50 on average an hour…..With record profits for the few!
———————————————————————————
General Motors CEO makes 362 times the median employee
General Motors CEO Mary Barra, the highest-paid chief executive among the Big Three, made nearly $29 million in 2022. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that this is 362 times the median GM employee’s paycheck. Publicly traded companies are required to disclose the ratio of their CEO’s pay to their median employee’s pay.
Fain, UAW’s president, said that in comparison, a worker makes $16.50 as an hourly starting wage at Ultium Cells, GM’s joint-venture battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1198938942/high-ceo-pay-inequality-labor-union-uaw-workers
Do you know what is Donor State?
Donor State
Each state collects a myriad of taxes from its residents, but the ones residents of all states pay are federal income taxes. It makes sense then that states with more residents, specifically more high earners, will pay more to the collective in income taxes than they take, and because of this, we have “donor states.”
These states are the ones who give more federal funds than they receive per capita (or per person). The Tax Foundation says that “84 percent of federal individual income taxes—which account for over 40 percent of federal revenue—are paid by those in the top 25 percent of the income distribution. The majority of these taxpayers live in wealthy, urban, politically “blue” areas like New York, California, and Massachusetts.”
In 2019, New York was the largest donor state in the U.S., with a negative balance of payments at $22,798,000,000. For every dollar New York gave the federal government, its residents were only receiving $0.91 back. As we mentioned, this discrepancy is due to the sheer volume of high earners within the state. Additionally, due to the cost of living in New York City, most of its residents earn over 14% more than the average American.
Seven other states are donor states:
New Jersey (-$10,334,000,000) Blue State
Massachusetts (-$9,919,000,000) Blue State
California (-$6,653,000,000) Blue State
Connecticut ($5,754,000,000) Blue State
Minnesota (-$1,896,000,000) Blue State
Colorado ($1,374,000,000) Blue State
Utah (-$416,000,000) RED State
States Receiving The Most Funding
Virginia is at the opposite end of the spectrum, with the highest positive balance of payments. Virginia’s balance of payments is $111,785,000,000, and residents receive $2.24 for every dollar sent to the federal government. One of the reasons that Virginia receives so much is the proximity to the District of Columbia, where there is a lot of federal spending to support federal projects, politicians, and military efforts.
Kentucky follows with $63,229,000,000 and the highest expenditure per dollar of receipts at $2.89.
The ten states with the largest positive balance of payments (the biggest takers) are:
Virginia ($111,785,000,000) RED State
Kentucky ($63,229,000,000) RED State
Florida ($50,999,000,000) RED State
Maryland ($49,942,000,000)
Ohio ($42,004,000,000) RED State
Pennsylvania ($41,516,000,000)
North Carolina ($35,437,000,000) RED State
Alabama ($33,033,000,000) RED State
Arizona ($30,907,000,000)
South Carolina ($28,209,000,000) RED State
That’s BS a McDonald’s worker in Michigan makes more than 1650 hr and they don’t pay union fees. Lousy union. Get rid of it. Got to be union propaganda tax site.
@west Sedona Dave
Thank you Dave for the actually truth and your post.. The misinformation liars posting here are “out of thier minds” ….they actually think their LIES are bringing change LOL.. All it does (you know for people that actually think and are NOT sheepie . Like the FAR extreme RIGHT.. shows us all what morons and LIARs they are on the extreme QANON Right.. they are the ones that truely hate the US and democracy…
Yea, that National Public Radio must be a union propaganda site?
Editors here’s data for your readers.
Can’t help but jump in here because of the extent of misinformation being fed by npr and some comments that try and force a wrongful perspective of easily found facts;
Average Salaries at Ultium Cells LLC
Popular Roles. HVAC Technician. $25.83 per hour. Maintenance Technician. $23.81 per hour. Facilities Technician. $23.81 per hour.
Installation & Maintenance. Boiler Technician. $26.98.
Production & Manufacturing. Production Associate. $16.50 per hour. Production Operator. $16.50 per hour.
https://www.indeed.com › cmp › sal…
Ultium Cells LLC salaries – Indeed
Base salaries reflect union negotiated wages. NPR famously failed to provide context in their pro union pro government diatribe.
Secondly, Arizona is a blue state with over 30% non taxable land. The government returns are based on many factors and it’s not as simple as donor comments which is why the government and tax officials use other methods to determine how much money is being spent and whether it is worth it.
What are you one of those CEOs of a billion $ corporation that pays their workers such low wages that they need public assistance to get by!!?? Now your post make sense..
https://www.allsides.com/news-source/npr-editorial#:~:text=NPR%20(Opinion)%20is%20a%20news,Rating%E2%84%A2%20of%20Lean%20Left
NPR agenda and bias cost it sponsorships and jobs to the tune of over 10% for first layoffs.
They got in trouble for lack of hiring diversity and lost sponsorships for lack of content (bias) moderation. Many were and are being let go, 10% starting point. CEO John Lansing is being replaced soon.
Take time to think and read and do your own internet searches and question what you read.
Considering Sedona city failures, it’s amazing tourists even come here for longer than a day to week. Getting up close and personal on trails is the real challenge and the real deal.
The Biden Crime Family knows I’m hot on their trail, and now they are stooping lower than I thought they ever would by attacking my family.
Right after I issued subpoenas to 10 Biden Family members and associates, the liberal media released a story they’d clearly been working on for weeks.
Simply put, it’s a purely political hit job carried out by the Biden Crime Family’s henchmen in the media.
The Biden’s and their allies are trying to say I did the same thing as Joe Biden in financial transactions with my brother, which is a classic dirty trick the Democrats love to do: accuse Republicans of doing exactly what they are guilty of doing.
These attacks couldn’t be farther from the truth, but considering none of them have ever built a real business or know a single thing about running a family farm in the heartland, it’s not surprising!
Here’s the truth. My family worked hard for the American Dream and when my father passed away without a will, my brother and I had to divide the properties our father left to us. While the Biden’s (who haven’t worked an honest day in their lives) were raking in tens of millions in cash from our foreign enemies, my family was doing the hard work it takes to build a successful farming and land leasing business in West Kentucky.
If Joe Biden had his way, we’d have been forced to sell the farm our family spent generations building to his Chineses buddies for pennies on the dollar!
That doesn’t fly in the Comer Family, and I’ll defend my family’s honor and integrity until my last breath.
I’ve produced enough evidence to Impeach and Convict Joe Biden of high crimes and misdemeanors, and now they are launching their most desperate and despicable attacks yet.
I’m proud to have the support of patriots across the country, and I need help to stay on offense and fight their lies with the truth.
If you’re able, I’d be humbled to have your support, we cannot give up now.
agreed the city salaries are a super ridiculous layered with nepotism range
Sedona voters approve female chief pay 2% less than man replaced. Sedona Democrats don’t support police or women always like that and won’t change.
Stop being tiresome @wait what Ileana Sept 14.
CNBC reported Ex-UAW president pleads guilty to racketeering and embezzlement as part of ongoing probe into union corruption
PUBLISHED WED, JUN 3 20202:50 PM EDTUPDATED WED, JUN 3 2020
Michael Wayland
@MIKEWAYLAND
Former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering and embezzlement.
Jones is the highest-ranking member of the UAW to be convicted as part of the ongoing probe.
He is the 14th person to plead guilty as part of the case, including 11 officials affiliated with the union and three executives with Fiat Chrysler.
Former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering and embezzlement, marking a major milestone in a yearslong case into corruption in one of America’s most prominent unions…search CNBC Wayland UAW corruption of union money from workers…
pursuit of serenity
days
nights
stars above my city
connection to perfection
Trump admin best & lives better while Biden family criminals & corrupt admin need votes saying Simpleminded Joe to go & stop dragging 50% of America down to keep in power. Shameful.
@kavanagh. enjoyed ,nice day every body
Politicians never change Sedona to be better, they ruin it piece by piece. When’s the last Park they funded but can do parking lots and transit systems. Golden Goose is turning to brass and its not good quality brass.
How justifiable are rents higher here when no real renters? False high rates, why do lower income tenants get preference before good renters, groceries and gas prices sky high with poor quality and selections. Chambers poor service is legendary and unessential to our local businesses literally.
real property prices based on fair market conditions
Well, you just might want to look into Arizona’s Air B&B law. And all your questions shall be answered!
Airbnb hurts Sedona and Arizona hotels and timeshares and you can bet fundraisers money to chambers and governments support no Airbnbs. Republican leaders came down on the peoples side allowing homeowners to use their properties to make money they keep. It’s done that way around the globe because hotels are rarer than Airbnb. Immediately report bad Airbnb behaviors to the police and to the owners out of town and be a good neighbor (our neighbor is in charge of reporting for us and we leave contact information with him, ask your neighbors to contact you and report to you.)
What’s wrong with people not wanting big businesses and hotels to gain rights we should have? When you need groceries and have to find ways to pay Sedona’s or our area outrageous taxes, they’re out of control this year, if prices continue to rise, we can be grateful to legally rent a room or home for income.
We get enough to cover our taxes and allow us a couple paid vacations every year and have friends trying it. We also find overseas house swaps and while it’s often our homes are better than those overseas, we still get a place to branch out traveling and better value.
Thoroughly enjoy Eye on Sedona for past four years after friend Henry sent articles and subscription. We love our Sedona visits and we visit again soon.
Go away then
In last 24 hrs 8200 crossed the border to El Paso area. 100000 migrants last few months. Hola global losers & terrorists. Bus stop route up 17 & 89 & 60 Sedona area cause we’re sanctuary city area. Good job city council.
Yea A b n bs are great…. Always great to see a new crop of crap on both sides of my house who both are air bnbs. Every couple of days. .. Hurrah for and screw your residential neighbors,
All ‘vacation” (short term rentals) aren’t Air B & B – that’s merely a trade name. Many properties list with established local real estate companies. Bottom line however is that the State law approved by former Gov. Ducey has allowed any and all subdivisions to become motel-row districts. It’s disgusting and an invasion of our personal property rights and subdivision C C & R’s.
Hey maybe all is not lost. Just think what an opportunity to use that vast acreage owned by City of Sedona at the wastewater sewer plant! Haven for the Homeless and illegal immigrants.
Better yet why not kick out the airheads in Washington DC who are allowing violation of our immigration laws thus creating the masses of law breaking individuals that “we the legitimate tax paying citizens” will be forced to financially support?
At least new members on the present Sedona City Council appear to be attempting to address the questionable funding and misplaced power and authority given to the Chamber of Commerce (not exclusively Sedona) which former city leaders allowed to happen.
What A Tangled Web We Weave.
Then lobby to change that flaw in the law, make it dependent on CCRs and HOA rules and regulations because other states have done it. Stop whining and get it done if it matters to a majority of HOA and subdivision owners. Get a good lawyer and make it happen. Or disallow it and tell owners violating that you’ll take them to court? That’s fine move it get shaking. Stop being intimidated by (deleted by editor).
Some Republicans and Democrats are right to force a fight on the worst humanitarian crisis we’ve experienced on this soil: The Invasion of our Southern Border. Our battle cry must be “No Border Security, No Funding.”
Defund any part of our government administration that’s at war with the American people by allowing 20 million and counting illegals in to break our laws and thumb their noses at Americans supporting them. Everyone must register who wants to stay or send them back to ask another day. And Sanctuary cities like Sedona need to step up and take their 20% of those coming over now and give them jobs and housing without raising taxes because they can use Chamber funds.
Our recollection of the unusual carries over into how we think about social groups. A recent survey by YouGov America illustrates the real-life tendency to overrepresent the size of minority populations. Residents of New York City, for example, are a tiny minority of Americans, only 3 percent of the population. But adult respondents to this nationwide survey thought that a whopping 30 percent of Americans live in the Big Apple. The survey also found a consistent overestimation of the size of ethnic and racial minority groups. Respondents on average figured that 41 percent of Americans are Black when the actual proportion is 12 percent. Wow.
Wastewater Heights housing, a new low for Sedona
@Teach Me Facts Not Fiction
Check this out: https://sedonaeye.com/eddie-maddock-surveys-versus-polls/
Actually the low started 9 years ago when the city council voted to “recharge” the aquifer with sewer water and the Vice Mayor, Mark DiNunzio, actually hoped people “below us” would drink it. Never mind that, despite being treated, sewer water still contains all kinds of chemicals and drugs. BTW, you can read the details about that travesty right here at the Eye: https://sedonaeye.com/sewer-water-injection-well-lawsuit/
Census provides statistically that 12% of black identifiers in business and academic positions is the fair and equitable number to reach.
Census percentages of black identifiers show higher percentages in every area of American business housing government media finance film and education meaning Americans aren’t racist and by example reparations are a false flag because black identifiers have been and are by percentage more successful than perception. (See YouGov findings)
Failure of vision and failure of policy is the mantra of Sedona City Councils get ready to unelect them and find people to run as a block. Get it done!
Salary cuts needed first.
misery owns Sedona
If they can’t cut salaries they can’t do anything else because proves they’re weaklings.
love sedona free spirit opinionated exchanges & ideals
Nice suggestion @Dan. It might also be interesting to know how many employees the city has that really aren’t necessary. How many “assistants to the assistants” are on the payroll? Why does an incorporated area of this size need to have so many government workers?
Good grief better times are coming when?
Why’s you think we get freak earthquakes because of injected water. . Lahaina got a fire because of water misuse . . nobody learns a thing from history .
Hey Jason, why don’t you tell us how many employees are not really needed in Sedona… Your lack of real information never stopped you from posting before. Please continue to make things up. Waiting…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
An average for overlapping staffing and redundant departmental services in municipalities is 19.1 percent: Sedona prides itself on recruiting and overpaying for superior employees which establishes an immediately attainable baseline for fewer employees, lowering costs, and increasing productivity at ballparked 25 percent. What reason has Sedona for inability to retain superior for the long-term or were they overpaid and underperforming? Not really interested to hear what you think.
Liberal corruption has eroded the fabric of American society, and we need a great renewal in this country and this city and state. Unelect city councilors and elect fiscally conservative people. Unelect AZ Governor whose policies allow AZ open border. Stand up and demand a change of command in Sedona, Washington and Phoenix. Go to council meetings and demand sanctuary city removal be put on agenda. Pay our peace officers more than pur city hall bureaucrats and politicians. Stop being silent because your taxes pay for this.
@Mike yes
@ABC yes except for silence when we’ve been loud and proud demanding they stop
@ESM yes
@annacall you may be right
maybe
Doug Burgum running for President: Every time I see a police officer, I tell them, “Thank you.” (End quote)
https://www.dougburgum.com/ (off site)
Do you support our law enforcement? Call the Sedona Police and county police and tell them today that you care they are the best of us.
https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/sedona-overtourism-last-tourist/
(Offsite)
What people visiting are saying!!! Helloooooooooo council and roadrunner !!!!!