Go to http: //abcnews.go.com/GMA/best_places_USA to vote for Sedona. According to GMA, “Sedona’s natural beauty takes your breath away. The Red Rocks inspire such awe that we had to name it one of our Most Beautiful Places in America.”

Help Sedona win by voting now!

As a result, the City is auctioning three vehicles and other miscellaneous equipment through publicsurplus.com over the next 30 days with a staggered release date. If you are interested in viewing the vehicles or other items, go to http://www.publicsurplus.com and search “Agency” for City of Sedona.

Check back often to see newly released items for public viewing. If you would like more information, please call the City Manager’s office at (928) 204-7127.

The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the trillions of
dollars. Few people know how much money that is so we created a
breakdown of federal spending in simple terms. Let’s put the 2011
federal budget into perspective:

· U.S. income: $2,170,000,000,000

· Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000

· New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000

· National debt: $14,271,000,000,000

· Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000 (about 1 percent of the budget)

It helps to think about these numbers in terms that we can relate to.
Let’s remove eight zeros from these numbers and pretend this is the
household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

· Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700

· Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200

· Amount of new debt added to the credit card: $16,500

· Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710

· Amount cut from the budget: $385

So in effect last month Congress, or in this example the Jones family,
sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $385 from its annual
budget. What family would cut $385 of spending in order to solve
$16,500 in deficit spending?

It is a start, although hardly a solution.

Now after years of this, the Jones family has $142,710 of debt on its
credit card (which is the equivalent of the national debt).

You would think the Jones family would recognize and address this
situation, but it does not. Neither does Congress.

The root of the debt problem is that the voters typically do not send
people to Congress to save money. They are sent there to bring home
the bacon to their own home state.

To effect budget change, we need to change the job description and
give Congress new marching orders.

It is awfully hard (but not impossible) to reverse course and tell the
government to stop borrowing money from our children and spending it
now.

In effect, what we have is a reverse mortgage on the country. The
problem is that the voters have become addicted to the money.
Moreover, the American voters are still in the denial stage, and do
not want to face the possibility of going into rehab.

Paul F. Miller
Phoenix

Watch your wallet and VOTE “YES” ON 411.

Proposition 411, relating to the Initiative, states: “A Yes vote shall have the effect of requiring Sedona City Council to refer any offer for the transfer of a state route located within Sedona city limits to the qualified electors at a special or general election.”

For the record, I’m neither an affiliate of Save Sedona Now nor do I know the true identity of “Liz Smith” if, in fact, that isn’t her real name.

Bottom line: VOTE YES ON 411!

They intend to LIE over and over and over again. They think if they keep on saying the same LIE, repeatedly, it will “poof” become true. Save Sedona now should change their name to “We are pissed about getting kicked out of office NOW”. Or how about “We can’t use our real name so we use alias Liz Smith NOW.”

The OLD Block of Scagnelli, PUD, Frey and gang really think they can LIE their way back into office through their minions. Sedona is not that stupid. I hope these folks will run for office again so we can emphatically show them where we want them. In their recliners at home.

One has to ask, how can Hamilton be both poor enough to cut every organizations, arts program, schools, non-profit agencies that serve or residents then claim the city is so wealthy it can afford ownership of Hwy 89A forever, with no legal process to return the road to ADOT once we agree to own the Hwy?

Please be assured Councilor Hamilton we are not as clueless as you would like to think we are!

Residents of Sedona: We can continue to be lied to on the cost of owning Hwy 89A or we can turn out in record numbers and VOTE No to city ownership of Hwy 89A November 8, 2011.