Mayor Helen Berg may be stepping down from a lengthy reign over Corvallis government, but she’s keenly aware of the struggles the city will face after she’s gone, not the least of which is the somewhat bleak financial picture.

Berg’s own Knights of the Round Table, the Corvallis City Council, will have long battles ahead.

“They’re going to have a very difficult time deciding on the budget,” Berg said, “because the cell phone tax was defeated and the revenue picture is worse than we thought.”

It’s going to be nearly impossible to take the initiative on new city projects with a financial quagmire to wade through.

“It seems to be likely they’ll have to curtail city services or at least hold them at their current level,” she said.

Meanwhile, the city’s golden child, the Economic Vitality Partnership, is poised for action.

“Like all initiatives or all economic development, it’s going to require an investment of money,” Berg said. And the question, Berg said, is who is going to make that investment, if the city is already strapped and private sector partners are already operating on a razor-thin margin.

“This is going to be a real challenge,” she said.

The council is made up of representatives from nine wards, and this year three of those wards have contested seats.

Robb Vancil is challenging incumbent Patricia Daniels in Ward 2; Dan Allen is up against incumbent George Grosch in Ward 3; and Chris Nordyke and Stewart Wershow are vying for the Ward 6 seat being vacated by Emily Hagen, who has moved out of the ward. The council races are nonpartisan.

Unopposed for seats on the council are Bill York, Dan Brown, Mike Beilstein, Scott Zimbrick, David Hamby and Hal Brauner.

The Gazette-Times asked candidates in the contested races to address their approach to the city’s budget situation, which they’ll face in the coming two-year council term, and to discuss their focus during that term.

Here is what they said:

Ward 2

Patricia Daniels: I agree with Helen that the biggest challenge will be dealing with the budget. It’s still a little early to know exactly what our financial situation will be come January, when we begin our budget process in earnest, so I’m reluctant to say exactly what I’d do since we don’t yet know the full picture.

I will say, however, that my top budget priorities will be protecting the core city services that are funded from the general fund (primarily property taxes): police, fire, parks and recreation, library, transit and planning. I’ll be looking with a very skeptical eye at any new funding requests that fall outside that range.

If I’m re-elected, I hope to focus primarily on two things: Broadening city support for livable neighborhoods. I’ll work for improved coordination on nuisance complaints; collaborative outreach to neighbors, incoming Oregon State University students and landlords; and tougher code enforcement for those few violators who disregard our laws.

Implementation of the recommendations of the Downtown Strategic Plan Task Force. I’m eager to help downtown business and property owners work with the entire city to make this happen

Robb Vancil: The City Council can respond to tight financial times by encouraging controlled economic growth that will provide Corvallis citizens with goods and services that are lacking. We can recruit businesses that residents patronize elsewhere and help stop the leakage of millions of dollars annually from our community. We can recruit businesses that pay living wages, are environmentally conscious and do not threaten locally owned businesses. This plan will increase property taxes, create local jobs, and help stop economic leakage, keeping more of Corvallis citizens’ money in Corvallis.

The average age in Corvallis is 27 and 46 percent of the population is between the ages of 15 and 34. Younger residents, students and working people are under-represented in local government. As a working student, I can help to change that.

I also hope to work on the police review board being established by the council. The current plan is a step in the right direction, but there is no degree of anonymity for the complainant and all complaints must first go through the Corvallis Police Department. These two factors make it unlikely to be used by people who feel they have a legitimate complaint, but fear retaliation.

I would also advocate for an all-ages music venue in Corvallis. Having a club where regional and touring acts could play would provide a service to the community and generate additional income by bringing people downtown.

Ward 3

Dan Allen: Quality of life is our most important issue. We currently have a high quality of life in Corvallis. With this in mind, the budget is the main priority for the city of Corvallis. We need to bring in revenue and be good managers with the Corvallis citizen’s money. 

However, I differ from some of the other candidates and my opponent in that I voted against the cell phone tax. The citizens did not want it. The Corvallis budget is more than $100 million or almost $2,000 for every man, woman and child in Corvallis. Now, I do think there is a way to bring in revenue without raising taxes. This would be with economic growth. The Economic Vitality Partnership presented some great ideas, and I think we should look at what we can do to benefit from its work.

 The next thing I would like to see is better shopping and services for south Corvallis residents where there has been very little progress over the 10 years I have lived here. There is a lot of valuable property along Highway 99W in south Corvallis that could support a lot of small and medium-size businesses and jobs. In a nutshell, south Corvallis residents deserve the same level of shopping and services as the other citizens of Corvallis.

George Grosch: In most of my eight years on council we have seen growth in expenses exceed growth in revenue. In the 2002-03 budget year the council reduced citywide services by $2.3 million, which has allowed us to maintain the current levels of service without asking for an increase in property taxes from the voters.

We have once again reached a point where the options are limited to reducing services or increasing revenue.

We need to seek citizen input prior to reducing services or asking the voters to approve additional property taxes. In the three years prior to serving on council I was a citizen member of the budget commission and have the historical perspective and practical experience to effectively address the challenges facing the budget commission and the council.

During the next term I would like to see the completion of the Willamette Park Greenway Master Plan and see an increase in the amount of retail and commercial shopping opportunities in south Corvallis. On a broader citywide level we will need to complete the Watershed Stewardship Plan governing the Marys Peak Watershed, implement the recently approved land development code, finish the Downtown Master Plan and work with the community to develop sustainable means to fund city government.

Ward 6

Chris Nordyke: One of the best things the city council can do is to support the private efforts of the community in terms of economic development. It will help with the short-term budget issues and will help our long-term position revenue-wise.

Having a dynamic employment base is part of the solution for the budget shortfall. We have placed a lot of confidence in Hewlett-Packard, Good Samaritan and Oregon State University. But we need to create a more stable economic base. I am supporting the efforts of the Economic Vitality Partnership. It’s clearly something we’ve developed a consensus on, and we should honor that.

One of the priorities of city council must be to develop better communication with the public.

What I bring to the city council is the energy and perspective of a working professional with a young family. I bring my business experience, my leadership experience, and my devotion to maintaining and improving the quality of life for today and for future generations.

I don’t come with a specific agenda, but rather to serve my constituents of Ward 6 and the citizens of Corvallis. I want to make sure as a council and budget commission that we prioritize funding to protect our basic city services, our environmental integrity, and our progressive culture.

Stewart Wershow: In the short term (through June 2007), the council can handle revenue shortfalls by reducing the fund balance in the property tax funds and holding off on some expenditures. The revenue shortfalls are in the property tax funds. The current budget projects a property tax fund balance of $1,209,743 and has a contingency fund of $241,970.

In deciding on the budget for fiscal year 2007-08, the budget commission will need to reduce the budget in accordance with priorities set by the city council. In the past, the council has decided to ask voters for increased revenue before making cuts. Once city staff has determined what cuts will be necessary to balance the budget, the council can decide whether to ask the voters for more money.

During the coming term, strengthening the neighborhood watch and neighborhood associations would be my main focus. By fostering a strong grassroots organization based on volunteers, the council will be creating a group that can provide it information on how voters feel about particular issues. With hope, it will allow people to better understand the services provided by the city and to give advice on how well those services are being provided and whether they are still needed. In the end, both the city and the voters will understand each other better.

Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.