Incoming mayor, council members discuss PBA that could end need for quadrennial ‘home rule’ election
Sedona Vice Mayor Brian Fultz is set to get a promotion from the voters and be seated in November as the next elected mayor of Sedona following the unofficial results for Yavapai and Coconino counties posted on Monday, July 27.
Fultz won 52.27% of the vote — 1,834 votes to 1,672, a margin of 162 — against political newcomer Henry Silbiger.
“It’s important to approach any type of elected office with a large dose of humility, and I certainly want to do just that,” Fultz said. “So I appreciate everyone who voted for me, but recognize that not everyone did.”
Fultz carried both counties, taking 1,339 votes to Silbiger’s 1,181 in Yavapai and 495 to 491 in Coconino. However, it was one of the most narrow margins of victory in a Sedona mayoral race in recent years with the next closest victory percentage in the 2020 matchup of incumbent Mayor Sandy Moriarty with 51.7%, beating challenger Kurt Gehlbach.
“I’d like to see us make meaningful progress on our Balanced Housing Strategy,” Fultz said, when asked what are some criteria of success for his term. “I’d like for us to have more events that bring out our neighbors, our friends, and create community. … Have we identified a couple hundred housing unit opportunities? Have we created a new festival or two? … So I think we’ll be able to measure it for sure.”
Interim Mayor Holli Ploog will go back to her regular City Council seat until 2028 after serving as mayor following the Sept. 30 resignation of Scott Jablow.
Council
Silbinger was part of the ad-hoc group of newcomers called “Sedona Residents First” running as a slate along with Jean-Christophe Buillet, Rich Gay and Lita Loesch Boyd.
While the slate was largely unsuccessful, Buillet placed first among the City Council candidates competing for three seats with 1,895 votes, 36 votes ahead of the next candidate.
“I think the reality has set in, and I’m excited to get started,” Buillet said, who attributed his 30 years in Sedona as part of his success. “It’s funny, I think I’ve already gotten a few people reaching out to me asking to help them with things,” such as a property dispute and an issue with a short-term rental. “I said, ‘I don’t actually get inaugurated for November.’”
The candidates are set to be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 10, after the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.
Newcomer Tony Hauserman took the second seat with 1,859 and incumbent Councilwoman Melissa Dunn won another term with 1,810 votes. Gay was 53 votes behind Dunn at 1,757 and Lita Loesch Boyd trailed with 1,614 votes.
“I’m trying not to get too excited about anything until the final count is out,” Hauserman said, ahead of the counties posting their unofficial results. “I know it looks pretty good right now, but I don’t want to be presumptuous. I don’t want to be dancing in the streets when I might need to be crying in my beer instead.”
“The margin, for me, is indicative of the divide within the community,” Dunn wrote. “We, as a council, need to do more to understand the underlying concerns and hopes of the entire community. We need to go beyond the speakers in meetings and those that take the time to write or meet with us.”
‘Home Rule’
Sedona voters extended “home rule” for another four years with the passage of Proposition 400, the city’s Alternative Expenditure Limitation, approving it 2,208 to 1,402, or 61.16% to 38.84%, passing higher than the average of 61.01%
Council will “be scheduling a future agenda item to discuss” sending a Permanent Base Adjustment to voters, Ploog wrote.
The Arizona Constitution allows a municipality to permanently adjust its state-imposed base spending limit with voter approval, which would alter the equation the Arizona Department of Revenue uses to determine a municipality’s budget cap. The PBA would applies to all future years, however, voters may vote on additional adjustments as opposed to home rule, which expires and must be renewed every four years.
The earliest a PBA can practically reach the ballot is July 2028. The current “home rule” is in effect through Fiscal Year 2030.
“The hard part is setting the number,” wrote outgoing Councilman Pete Furman, who opted not to run for reelection. “Set it high and it replaces ‘home rule’ votes for 15 to 20 years. Set it low, below current spending and the community must trim services and projects. … A third option, also novel: Keep ‘home rule,’ set a low PBA — higher than the state limit — and hold it in reserve. It would make for a softer landing if ‘home rule’ someday fails.”
All four incoming members said they support sending a PBA to voters but differ on the approach. Fultz and Hauserman would set it high enough to permanently end the four-year home rule cycle. Dunn said she wouldn’t pick a number herself, expecting staff to bring council a figure and a rationale to debate. Buillet would tie it closer to current revenues.
“Way too soon to tell,” Fultz said about a potential amount for a PBA. “But I just know that it’s not great for the community overall that every four years we gnash our teeth about yes or no on home rule. So I would hope that whatever might come of a PBA is something that results in us not having to revisit it every four years.”
“If it was up to me, and you said just to pick a number, I would generally pick a number that would be, as a starting point, something that would be over current revenues,” Buillet said. “If we could go somewhat over revenues — let’s say if revenues are $70 million, and we go $75 million or $80 million, something like that — it puts us in a position where there’s a bit of breathing room.”
Ploog and Fultz both said that they do not anticipate council discussing a PBA until after the new members get seated in November.
“I am committed personally, at least advocating that we pursue a PBA in 2028,” Fultz said. “I do believe we should begin that process of working on it very soon. … [But] I don’t see us picking this up formally until December at the absolute earliest.”
Sedona Cultural Park
Sedona voters decided to prohibit residential development at the Sedona Cultural Park by a margin of 781 votes, approving Proposition 403 with 2,183 votes in favor to 1,402 against — 60.9% to 39.1%.
“I’m not bent out of shape that Prop. 403 was successful,” Fultz said. “That’s what the people voted on. That’s what they wanted. I respect that, and now that provides some guardrails around what eventually can be planned for the property, so we move forward accordingly.”
Dunn traced the divide to consultant Dig Studio’s housing density in proposed plans. The Phoenix-based consultant firm floated as many as 673 units including 288 in seven-story apartment buildings in February 2025 and 430 units by the time a draft master plan reached council in September. Council rejected the density both times but never adopted a plan or set a housing number. In February, council met in Executive Session to evaluate if the wording on Prop. 403 violated state law and decided to proceed with a lawsuit against the initiative. A judge ruled against the city in early May and council opted to not appeal.
“Some residents interpreted the council’s agreement with legal advice as opposition to the community rather than an effort to clarify statutory requirements,” Dunn wrote. “All residents can rest assured that the council was and will continue to be bound by the law.”
Sedona Community Development Director Tony Allender wrote the city has “not yet determined the extent of the maintenance required or its associated costs” for implementing Prop. 403.
The city is continuing its talks with the Sedona International Film Festival for a new theater complex at the site along State Route 89A. September is the deadline to respond to the city’s Request for Information on reviving the Georgia Frontiere Performing Arts Pavilion. Council approved a non-binding letter of intent with nonprofit Sedona Cultural Park 2.0 on May 26 to develop a business plan for the park. Scott Ross’ Amphitheater Action Group, an ad-hoc group of entertainment industry veterans, is drafting a competing plan for the closed amphitheater.
