Sedona Parks and Recreation Leaders Collect More Than $600,000 in Pay Since 2021:

Investigative | Opinion

When residents raise questions about Sedona’s city budget, one theme consistently emerges: salaries and operational costs consume nearly half of the city’s annual spending. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Parks and Recreation Department, where three senior employees have together received more than six hundred thousand dollars in total compensation since 2021.

The largest share belongs to Parks & Recreation Manager Josh Frewin, who joined the city in July 2021. His pay averages $4,766 every two weeks, or just over $9,500 per month, in addition to a $150 monthly car allowance. Since his hire, his total compensation has reached $296,961, making him one of the most highly paid figures in the department.

Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo, hired in September 2021, earns $34.77 per hour, which amounts to a little more than $2,700 every two weeks or $5,563 each month. Along with a $70 monthly car allowance, Vargo’s total compensation to date stands at $204,469. By comparison, his earnings reflect a smaller monthly outlay than Frewin’s, but his presence in the department still represents a major line item in the city’s budget.

Events & Rentals Administrator Carrie Wieber, who came on board in July 2023, is the newest of the three. She is paid $26.68 per hour, which comes out to $2,134 every two weeks or just over $4,200 per month, plus a $70 monthly car allowance. In 2 years, her compensation has already reached $108,272, demonstrating how quickly even new hires become a significant budgetary commitment for the city.

Altogether, the three Parks and Recreation leaders have collected $609,704 since their respective start dates. Viewed annually, their combined pay is close to a quarter of a million dollars, a sum that sparks debate about whether taxpayers are getting a fair return on investment. Supporters of the department argue that competitive salaries are necessary to attract qualified professionals to oversee recreation programs, community events, and public spaces. Critics, however, point to the city’s ongoing struggles with transparency, accessibility, and service delivery, questioning whether administrative compensation is swallowing resources that might otherwise support residents more directly. Those concerns have only deepened in light of ongoing legal disputes. A local resident has already filed a formal Notice of Claim seeking $3.5 million in damages, citing alleged ADA violations and discriminatory practices that stem directly from actions within the Parks and Recreation Department. For many, this pending claim underscores the risks of channeling large sums into salaries while systemic issues remain unresolved. The contrast is especially stark when viewed against Sedona’s ongoing housing crisis. While city leaders in Parks and Recreation collect more than $600,000 in combined compensation, the city continues to sit on more than $15 million already allocated for affordable housing. Meanwhile, the very workers who sustain Sedona’s tourism economy, restaurant staff, cleaners, service workers, and even families with children, are left to sleep in cars or camp in the forest because they cannot find stable housing. For many residents, the optics of high salaries at the top alongside inaction on basic community needs highlight a growing disconnect between city hall and the people it is meant to serve.

As Sedona continues to grapple with questions of fiscal priorities, the pay structure of Parks and Recreation provides a telling example of how quickly public funds accumulate in salaries alone. For many residents, the issue is not only the size of the paychecks but the larger question of whether city government is striking the right balance between maintaining its workforce and investing in the community it serves.

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