Sedona council tentatively funds nine new police positions after multi‑model staffing analysis

Sedona’s City Council agreed in principle to add nine sworn police positions to the city’s FY26 budget after an extended presentation by Police Chief Stephanie Foley showing multiple staffing models that, she said, point to a shortfall.

Foley told the council the department’s steady call volume and the city’s large daily tourist population have left officers working fatigue‑driven overtime and exposed the city to “the risk that one breakdown or an accident could leave us unable to provide base‑level service.” She recommended five additional patrol officers, three traffic/motor‑unit positions (including a commercial‑vehicle inspector) and one community‑focused outreach officer to address persistent homelessness and service needs. “These nine officers are a need,” Foley said; “they help keep officers safer and citizens safer.”

The chief anchored the request to three separate staffing analyses—ICMA population ratios, a workload-based saturation index and an internal heat‑map of call volumes by hour—that all showed the department operating above recommended saturation thresholds for long stretches of each week. Staff showed average officer time on a call at roughly 53 minutes, and argued single‑officer minimums during peak hours left no capacity for the department’s frequent two‑officer calls such as domestic incidents.

City staff estimated the nine‑position package carries an up‑front (one‑time) cost for equipment and vehicles, with ongoing annual personnel costs thereafter. Council budget materials presented an initial, approximate total base‑cost for the package (staff estimated the nine‑position request at roughly $2.8 million in total year‑one cost with about half the amount one‑time expenses and half recurring payroll and benefits). Councilors asked staff to refine those dollar figures and to stagger hires according to recruiting outcomes; Foley said she planned a mix of lateral hires and new‑hire academy slots and expected the new officers to be phased onto the payroll rather than start simultaneously.

Council direction and next steps

Council members asked the chief to prioritize filling a community outreach officer among the hires so the city can better coordinate homeless outreach and alternative response models. Several councilors voiced support for a phased approach—approving the full nine‑position authorization while allowing the chief to space hires through FY26 as recruitment, academy slots and vehicle procurement permit. The council asked staff to model the FY26 budget impact using phased hiring schedules and to show where one‑time equipment costs would be spent.

The council’s interim budget discussion also balanced other competing priorities—transit capital planning, CIP changes, and community service contract requests—before staff completed a package of decision‑items and a revised CIP to present at the tentative budget hearing on May 27. Finance staff will present a refined cost table and multi‑year projections showing the recurring personnel cost added to the operating budget once hires are complete.

Why it matters

Sedona’s police staffing debate tied directly to questions common across small, tourism‑dependent cities: how to staff for a widely varying daytime population, how to pay for on‑call and event coverage, and how to manage overtime and training without overstretching existing squads. Chief Foley and staff argued the nine positions would improve response reliability, enable more proactive traffic and safety enforcement and reduce officer fatigue and associated safety risks.

What councilors said

Supporters described the request as long overdue. “We’re one breakdown and an accident away from not being able to provide base‑level service,” one councilor said after Foley’s briefing. Others said they wanted assurances on phasing and recruiting capacity before the hires were placed on payroll. The council approved the nine‑position authorization with the expectation of phased hiring and additional budget detail from staff.

Next procedural step

Staff will return detailed cost estimates, proposed phasing and vehicle procurement timelines ahead of the May 27 tentative budget adoption. The council’s final decisions on recurring personnel costs will be incorporated in the FY26 adopted budget after the May public hearings.

Clarifying details

- The police staffing request includes five patrol officers, three traffic‑unit officers (one of them to be trained as a commercial‑vehicle inspector), and one community outreach officer. (Chief Stephanie Foley) - Staff presented three independent workload models (ICMA population ratios; a saturation index based on peak hourly call volume and officer availability; and heat‑map call‑for‑service data) that all indicated a staffing deficit. - Staff gave a preliminary one‑year, year‑one cost estimate for the nine positions of about $2.8 million; roughly half is one‑time equipment and vehicle costs and half recurring pay/benefits (staff estimate; subject to refinement). - Council asked the chief to phase hires through FY26 and to prioritize the community outreach officer among early hires. - Staff will present refined numbers and a hiring/phasing plan at the May 27 tentative budget hearing.

Sources and provenance

The article is based entirely on the Sedona City Council FY26 budget work session transcript (public presentations by Chief Stephanie Foley and supporting slides, and Council deliberations). Representative quotes and figures are drawn from the department’s staffing presentation and the council’s recorded directions during the session.