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City attorney: Sedona pay changes must follow open‑meeting rules and ordinance process
Summary
At a May 18 work‑group meeting, City Attorney Christensen told Sedona councilors that changes to mayor and council pay require public notice, a hearing and compliance with state law; he noted constitutional limits that can delay midterm raises and warned of open‑meeting and payroll record risks.
City Attorney Christensen told the Sedona Council Compensation Work Group on May 18 that any change to mayor or council pay must proceed under Arizona open‑meeting and municipal ordinance rules and may not take immediate effect for sitting members in many circumstances.
"When council creates a work group, it becomes a public body," City Attorney Christensen said, explaining that work groups are subject to Arizona's open‑meeting requirements and that informal communications (emails, texts or 'daisy‑chain' conversations) can create inadvertent quorum violations. He advised the group to post agendas at least 24 hours in advance and said amendments can be made up to the day before a meeting, but emphasized public accessibility.
Christensen reviewed the city code provision that currently sets compensation — $800 per month for the mayor and $550 for each council member — and described the mechanics for changing that code. "Council gets to amend its compensation simply by amending the ordinance," he said, adding that a draft ordinance, proper notice and at least one public hearing are required; an ordinance or resolution typically takes 30 days to go into effect.
He also flagged constitutional and statutory limits. Citing state law and the Arizona constitution, Christensen said the legislature's approach generally prevents officers from granting themselves extra compensation that takes effect midterm; that constraint means the work group can include language delaying an increase to the next term so sitting members would not receive an immediate raise. "If you want to avoid the appearance of self‑dealing, you can specify that an increase does not take effect until after the next election," he said.
Christensen warned about enforcement and penalties for open‑meeting violations. He said inadvertent violations can carry consequences including removal from a board and, in examples he cited, fines up to $500 for accidental breaches; he noted that, in some cases, the individual — not the city — could be held responsible.
The group proceeded to approve the minutes from March 17 and adopted the meeting agenda by voice vote. Staff and the attorney told members they will collect additional ordinance history and comparable data ahead of the group's next meeting.
The work group set its next meeting for June 15 at 10:00 a.m.; staff will return with a compilation of budget and comparable‑city figures and a draft questionnaire for former councilors.
