The Sedona City Council has approved hiring a lobbyist to give Sedona an additional voice in the ongoing short-term vacation rental issue.

While the hiring passed during the meeting Tuesday, Sept. 28, council did so by a rare 4-3 vote. Mayor Sandy Moriarty and Councilmen Tom Lamkin and Jon Thompson were the dissenting votes.

Council approved hiring a lobbyist for the upcoming Arizona State Legislative session for $75,000, to be paid from the city’s contin­gency fund.

“I do not support this at all,” Moriarty said. “In my opinion, it’s a total waste of money — an absolute waste. It’s not going to do anything. If you think $75,000 is going to change somebody’s mind at the legislature, I can tell you that you are wrong.”

“I am the one who has been the closest to this issue and has worked on it since 2016,” Moriarty said. “I have worked with the League [of Arizona Cities and Towns] on it closely. It doesn’t seem most of you even understand how valu­able the League is.”

She then added, “If you don’t think they [legisla­ture] have heard our story, you’re wrong — they’ve heard it for five years. That $75,000 could do some­thing important in this city. It would mean something to somebody. It will get us nowhere.”

Thompson said he was prepared to vote in favor of the lobbyist because he was under the impression the League had not prioritized advocacy on the short-term rental issue.

After hearing Moriarty state that she believes the League is doing so, he changed his vote.

Lamkin said in the end it was a matter of whether or not hiring a lobbyist would help the cause. And like Thompson, he said he was not aware of the degree of advocacy on this topic Moriarty said was put forth by the League.

“I think we’re all aware how important this issue is to the city of Sedona, the community and all of you who I know have been very active on this issue,” Deputy City Manager Joanne Keene said to start the discussion. “I’ve been here just over four months, and I’m not sure I have heard about any other issue more than this issue in this community. It’s clearly a main topic and one we need to address.”

Councilwoman Jessica Williamson said while in favor of hiring a lobbyist, she had reservations about the timing.

“The governor has said he isn’t going to do anything,” she said. “Is this the right time? That’s my big question. If Ducey’s not going to do anything, should we not wait until we have a new governor?”

City Manager Karen Osburn said there is value in having someone who brings a fresh set of eyes to the issue and has connections with legislators in order to continue the dialog.

“The League’s very good at what they do,” Osburn said. “They have great connections and they lobby well. They lobby well for things that are of importance to the majority of their 91 cities and towns. Unfortunately, this is not a critical issue for the vast majority of those 91 cities and towns.”

Those members of council in favor of hiring a lobbyist said that while they appreciate the work the League does, they felt having someone solely representing Sedona would be beneficial.

Vice Mayor Scott Jablow said the city should be doing everything it can to address the short-term vacation problem while Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said the more advo­cacy the better.

“The League of Arizona Cities and Towns does a great job on a host of issues,” Kinsella said. “Therein lies the key word — host of issues. I’m very glad for what they’re working on but I think having our own lobbyist would be a vastly different experience for us and a vastly different voice representing our concerns.”

A staff report states the purpose of the lobbyist is to specif­ically pursue the short-term rental issue on behalf of Sedona. Hiring a private lobbyist, the report states, would comple­ment the work of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and provide Sedona with many advantages, including:

• Providing one contact and advocate for the city of Sedona at the legislature and with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office.
• Identify opportunities for the city of Sedona, including the mayor and council, to meet with legislators, the gover­nor’s office and key stakeholders.
• Work with city staff on draft legislation and a legislative strategy.
• Review communications materials to help tell the story of the impact of short-term rentals on the city of Sedona.