Those wishing to see a permanent base adjustment up for a vote this fall are now letting out a collective sigh of relief.

On Thursday, Aug. 9, the city of Sedona announced that it will restore an initiative to establish a permanent base adjustment to the city’s expenditure authority to the Nov. 6 ballot.

City Attorney Robert Pickels said he erred in advising City Clerk Susan Irvine that removing 35 non-residents from an initial review of petition signatures was within her authority.

“While these 35 individuals do not live in Sedona and therefore are likely not qualified electors of the city, it was not the role of the city clerk to remove them,” Pickels said. “The role of verifying validity of signatures belongs to the county recorders.”

On July 30, Irvine informed representatives from Arizona Liberty that their proposal had been deemed invalid for the Nov. 6 ballot.

The proposal failed following completion of a comprehensive review process as established by the Arizona State Legislature with guidance from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.

The final phase of the process included receipt of random sampling results from the Yavapai and Coconino county recorders, which resulted in a determination by the
city clerk that 16 percent of the petition signatures are invalid.

The projected number of valid signatures that remain was below the statutory requirement.

Arizona Liberty needed a minimum of 429 valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot. It ended with 638 signatures but following the review that number dropped to 399, resulting in the disqualification.

Restoring the 35 removed signatures will result in a total of 429 signatures, the precise number needed for the initiative to qualify for the ballot.

“The proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot would establish a permanent expenditure limit of approximately $25.2 million subsequent to the Home Rule vote scheduled for the Aug. 28 primary ballot,” a press release from the city states.

Other allowed expenditures would push the budget to roughly $36 million.

Arizona Liberty filed a lawsuit in Yavapai County Superior Court against the city of Sedona for “illegally invalidating signatures and disqualifying the initiative,” according to a press release from Arizona Liberty.

“Arizona Liberty is pleased with this resolution of the lawsuit,” Arizona Liberty PAC Treasurer Dwight Kadar said. “Now the voters of Sedona will have a choice and voice in the financial future of their city.”

Arizona Liberty President Mike Schroeder added, “I feel, as well as those who support a permanent base adjustment, very good about this decision. It’s always been our intention for the city to have that safety net in case Home Rule were to fail.”

Schroeder added that city councils over the last 22 years had an opportunity to adjust the base funding but never did so.

“There’s no excuse for that to happen,” he said. The city of Sedona will conduct its 2018 primary election Tuesday, Aug. 28, and the general election, Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 122, or email reland@larsonnewspapers.com