Council budgets court specialist but asks for six‑month report before hiring

The Sedona City Council voted to include funding for an additional municipal court specialist in its FY27 budget after Judge Spears and staff described sustained backlog and staffing strain at the municipal court.

Judge Spears told the council the court has been relying on a temporary worker who has effectively performed about 80 percent of a full position; moving that role to a permanent, benefited employee would raise ongoing costs largely because of benefits and ASRS retirement contributions. Finance staff (Sterling) said the net ongoing cost is roughly $36,000 after salary and benefits adjustments, with some one‑time overlap and training costs. The judge said hiring is necessary to avoid staff turnover and to address an existing backlog of unaddressed cases.

Several councilors expressed support for providing the judge the tools needed to operate the court but urged greater clarity before immediate hiring. Councilor Dunne and others asked staff and the court to define specific performance metrics to show whether additional staffing is improving operations; one councilor proposed delaying the start date into the fiscal year to share risk and limit near‑term spending.

Council action: Council voted to include the court specialist decision package in the FY27 budget but directed staff to hold hiring authorization until Judge Spears reports back with a six‑month update on caseload, process changes and staffing metrics. That report is expected in June; if it shows need and adequate planning, hiring may proceed under the city manager’s established controls.

The inclusion of the position in the budget does not itself create a hire until the council or manager releases authorization; council members said they wanted the check‑in so budgeting and accountability align.

What’s next: The judge and city manager will work on the requested metrics and timeline and report to council in June. The budgetary allocation remains in the FY27 figures but hiring is expected only if the June check‑in satisfies council concerns.