Two public commenters urge Sedona council to fund arts and a sustainability audit

Two members of the public used the two-minute comment period during the budget work session to advocate for arts funding and a sustainability audit.

Skip Daum, who identified himself as the founder of the Sedona Artists Consortium and an organizer of a Sedona Sculptor Symposium at the SIF theaters, told council he "is in full support of the art and culture department portion of the budget" and described the symposium—s planned participants. Daum said he moved to Sedona recently and wants to become more involved in the community.

John "JT" Thompson spoke about sustainability and asked the council to reconsider decision package 48 (listed in the packet as a procured-products and waste audit). Thompson said the audit would help the city gather "real data" on scope‑3 environmental emissions and that such data is critical to meeting local 50-by-30 climate goals. He noted the city manager and the budget work group had not recommended the package and urged councilors to give it further consideration.

What was not decided: The city manager had excluded some items from the proposed budget and the packet showed the work group recommended against decision package 48; the council did not vote on either public‑comment items during the session.

Next steps: Thompson said staff (Bryce, named in public comment) could provide technical details in later briefings; councilors will consider decision packages during the next day—s deliberations.