During public meetings, Sedona City Council members and staff often refer to the need to educate members of the public about the benefits of city programs and policies.

While the city has its own communications department to handle the task, it’s not above seeking outside help, either.

The city currently maintains a six-person communications and tourism department, tourism having been combined with communications, given that the focus of the city’s tourism management approach, as described by Tourism Manager Andrew Grossman, is communicating “the expectations that we set around responsible and respectful use.”

According to Sedona’s 2024 community survey, 55% of respondents did not think the city was being honest or informing residents about issues facing the community, while 59% did not think the city was being transparent. The FY25 budget also revealed that 34% of city staff are dissatisfied with the city’s internal communications.

The department’s fiscal year 2025 budget was $2,586,110. This included salaries of $117,096 for Communications and Tourism Manager Lauren Browne, $108,035 for Grossman, $86,670 for Marketing Manager Rob MacMullen, $62,000 for Marketing Coordinator Celeste Claudio, $75,608 for Public Relations Coordinator Kegn Moorcroft and $64,480 for Tourism Coordinator James Mogensen.

As of FY23, the most recent year for which final figures are available in the city’s budget, this investment had secured the city 1,129 Sedona-resident Facebook followers and 3,267 total Instagram followers. The department issued 126 press releases that year, which was projected to fall to 105 in FY25.

In addition to its in-house management efforts, the city also entered into 27 contracts for media and public messaging services with 12 different public relations firms, primarily Beta Public Relations of Flagstaff, which received 14 contracts, during the last four years.

Beta PR Contracts

• May 2021: For “managing perception” of the “eventual benefits and potential impacts” of the Soldier Pass shared use path project, primarily through an electronic newsletter, but also through flyer design, mailing coordination and maintaining a comments log. Estimated cost: $19,896.36.
• October 2021: For creating videos that will “high light the city’s goals, agenda and what was done the previous year,” including “City Council priorities.” Estimated cost: $37,700.
• October 2021: For managing perception of the State Route 179 sewer main replacement project. Estimated cost: $10,538.35.
• April 2022. For managing perception of the Forest Road extension project to ensure resident awareness of the “eventual benefits.” Estimated cost: $36,334.98.
• April 2022: For managing perception of the Chapel Road shared use path project, mainly through electronic newsletters. Estimated cost: $17,364.68.
• August 2022: For managing perception of the Dry Creek Road shared use path project. Estimated cost: $27,630.21.
• November 2022: For managing perception of the Andante Drive shared use path. Estimated cost: $8,977.16, amended in May 2024 to increase the contract value to $12,203.16.
• February 2023: For mailing letters to property owners affected by the city’s Oak Creek map revision project. Estimated cost: $870.
• April 2023: For managing perception of the benefits of the Back O’Beyond low water crossing improvement project. Estimated cost: $12,170.70.
• May 2023: For managing perception of the city’s construction of the State Route 179 underpass and creating “education pieces about the underpass and new [high-intensity activated crosswalk] signalized, at-grade crosswalk. These pieces will be designed and produced to inform stakeholders about how to use the intersection, the reason it is being installed and the benefits involved with a HAWK-style traffic signal. Following the completion of the project, a ‘post-project testimonial’ release will be created to share how the project came about, the successes of the project and the issues that were solved.”
• August 2024: For managing perception of the construction of the Uptown garage and informing residents about “the benefits involved with the parking garage. Following the completion of the project, a ‘post-project testimonial’ release will be created to share how the project came about, the successes of the project and the issues that were solved.” Estimated cost: $53,357.72.
• January 2025: To carry out what Browne wrote was a “one-off” project “to help us pitch stories to the Phoenix press, particularly the news stations, about short term rentals, our housing emergency proclamation and anything else you think they should run with.” She stated that Beta was looking for “a Sedona resident we can find who’s willing to go on camera and talk about their negative experiences with STRs.” The firm subsequently arranged interviews, at least one of which included scripted questions, for Mayor Scott Jablow to state that STRs were the cause of Sedona’s housing shortage. “I think these articles do a great job spreading this issue to the masses in the state,” Conner Cassens, Beta’s vice president, wrote to Browne in an email afterward.
• February 2025: To assist the Sedona Vista Estates subdivision with its members’ abandonment of the subdivision’s restrictions. The estimated project cost was $8,906.
• March 2025: To create promotional videos and electronic newsletters and organize the city manager’s monthly coffee event, with a not-to-exceed amount of $50,000.

Other Firms

The city also entered into contracts with:

• Southwest Decision Resources in March 2022 to oversee the Community Plan update process through the fall of 2023. The estimated value of the contract was $74,596, which was increased in March 2023 to $98,521.
• Front Burner Media in April 2023 “to begin building the tourism office for the city of Sedona,” including creating a communications plan with public messaging. Estimated cost: Not to exceed $50,000; amended in July 2024 to $80,000.
• Agility PR Solutions in June 2023 for social media monitoring services. Estimated value: $9,893.
• DVA Advertising and Public Relations in October 2023 to develop a city tourism brand, strategic plan and destination marketing campaigns. Estimated cost: $245,000, with $186,000 in optional extras. Amended November 2024 to cover additional marking campaigns for an additional fee of $516,000 and a total of $947,000.
• Sedona Now Media in November 2023 to promote “responsible visitation” and “Roundabouts 101” by broadcasting a 60 second television commercial for each over local cable 12 times per day for 12 months through June 2024. Estimated cost: $1,500 production fee plus $400 per month for the visitation commercial and $400 per month for the roundabout commercial.
• Sedona Now Media in June 2024 to renew the previous commercials through June 2025.
• Sedona Now Media in June 2024 to produce and air four promotional videos for the Sedona Shuttle. Estimated cost: $4,200 for production plus $598 per month for airtime.
• Dig Studio in July 2024 to develop and promote a new master plan for the Sedona Cultural Park. The value of the contract was $254,242. The scope of work included creating “content for the city to send through the city’s social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and other platforms the city deems appropriate. The social media content will be centered around elements of the master plan and progress being made. A social media calendar will be developed so the team can organize post content in a systematic way and strategically aim to deliver the appropriate content at the appropriate times during the master plan process.”
• CrowdRiff in September 2024 for access to a social media brand management platform. Estimated cost: $5,400.
• Casual Astronaut Inc. in October 2024 to develop a social media content strategy and content. Estimated cost: Not to exceed $5,000.
• Madden Media in October 2024 for search engine optimization. Estimated cost: $5,875.
• Mission2Market in October 2024 to develop “a list of priority media outlets and journalists for Sedona,” “example[s] [of] proactive pitches to journalists related to tourism in Sedona” and “an influencer strategy for Sedona’s tourism program.” Estimated cost: $8,750.
• OnWard Digital Media in February 2025 to research and design a social media toolkit for Sedona city staff. Estimated cost: $9,000.