The Sedona City Council did a little spring cleaning of its own rules and procedures on a variety of topics, from selecting a vice mayor to the protocol of requesting staff time.
But two topics near the end of the two-hour agenda item on March 23 that garnered the most discussion centered around the mayor’s emergency power and the starting times of council meetings.
Nearly a year ago, Mayor Sandy Moriarty implemented a mask mandate within the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming them as part of her emergency powers.
Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella requested discussion on the topic, not because she disagreed with the mayor having emergency powers but because she feels there should be some sort of review — in this case the mask mandate.
“As it stands now, the council would have to rescind an emergency declaration and I think that’s kind of extreme,” Kinsella said. “As a counter to that, I think there should be an automatic review after declaring an emergency, maybe like 30 days, but that could obviously be changed.”
Moriarty’s mask mandate was nullified on March 25 when Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a resolution that mask mandates are no longer allowed except in government buildings and on public transportation, if local governments require them. Mask usage is still encouraged, especially in groups that are not vaccinated.
Moriarty said that to her knowledge, Sedona has never declared an emergency like she did last year
“This is like the pandemic itself,” she said. “Nobody has any experience with this. It was certainly a different kind of emergency than I would have envisioned. I think of an emergency as a fire, flood, earthquake or something like that.
“If we had to review it every month and put it on the agenda, it’s just taking time up if we really don’t need to do that,” Moriarty said. “If there’s a need to review, then you have the power already to request that it be on the agenda. It doesn’t mean we end up rescinding it — you might decide not to.”
Kinsella responded by saying that to post the item on the agenda to possibly rescind the emergency power might be seen by the public as questioning Moriarty’s authority. Whereas, an automatic review shows unity and that council is looking at the issue as a whole but doesn’t question the original intent of the declaration.
“To rescind something you’ve declared, I think questions the judgement of declaring it in the first place,” Kinsella said. “I do not question that judgement. I support that judgement. But I want to make sure that we, as a body, are reviewing this since we are all accountable back to the public in this process.”
Former City Manager Justin Clifton said during his career he is not aware of any emergency declarations lasting this long — over a year. Depending on the level of the emergency, they normally last a few days to several months. He also pointed out that if two council members request this item to be discussed at a council meeting, that’s all it takes. And, it doesn’t mean the discussion has to be focused on rescinding it but rather discussing it and receiving an update.
Meeting of the Minds
Another item Kinsella brought up was the starting times for council meetings. Currently, Tuesday meetings begin at 4:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Council also hosts a 3 p.m. work session on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month if there is a specific item to be discussed. If not, the meeting is canceled. The work sessions normally last two hours.
As for start times for council meetings, this is something that has been brought up by the public for many years and the issue is twofold. First, some have said that for those who work, getting to a meeting at 4:30 p.m. can be challenging but that the 3 p.m. start time is nearly impossible. The other issue is that these meeting times make it difficult for non-retirees to sit on council if they were ever elected or appointed. Currently, all seven of the council members are retired, as have been the vast majority of those who have served over the years.
While she feels the 4:30 p.m. time is acceptable, Kinsella said the 3 p.m. meeting should be changed to 4:30 p.m. to encourage more participation and possibly encourage younger residents to run for council.
Councilwoman Holli Ploog agreed and pulled no punches when doing so.
“We don’t have a diverse council [in terms of age] and we’re not going to get a diverse council if we don’t make some accommodations,” Ploog said. “If you look at the people who applied this time, they’re retirees. The people who run are retirees. I feel very strongly on this issue.”
Councilwoman Jessica Williamson agreed with Ploog and Kinsella on the idea of starting the Wednesday meetings at 4:30 p.m. but Vice Mayor Scott Jablow and Councilman Tom Lamkin, as well as Moriarty, felt there was not a need to change it. Lamkin didn’t feel as though changing the meeting time would increase the number of applicants while Jablow said he had concerns for staff that are already working 10-hour days. The March 23 meeting, for example, lasted four and a half hours.
“While this is the public’s meeting, the public has access to it in other ways,” Moriarty said. “After six years [as mayor] I have not seen very many times when people attend anything other than something really controversial. They don’t come. So I don’t believe that it [starting time] is a major issue.”
She went on to say that during the 3 p.m. work sessions, council rarely takes any action — they are normally for discussion and direction only. She said while a 3 p.m. start may impair a member of the public from running for council, she doesn’t feel that applies to attending a meeting or communication with council members by phone or email.
Because it was an informal 3-3 vote, changing the start time failed to move forward. However, being that Jon Thompson was selected the next day to fill the vacancy left by Councilman Bill Chisholm, they could address the issue at a later date.
