By Matt Neznanski
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Friday, October 3, 2008 12:00 am
Clear differences emerged between the pairs of candidates seeking to represent Wards 1 and 6 on the Corvallis City Council during a candidate forum sponsored by the Gazette-Times on Thursday.
Ward 6 Candidates Joel Hirsch and John Detweiler and Ward 1 incumbent Bill York and challenger Mark O'Brien took questions from the G-T's editorial board and the audience.
When asked about which city services might be at risk if the council was asked to make cuts in lean budget times, Detweiler suggested Parks and Recreation as a potential place to start.
"I don't know why the city is in the recreation business," he said. "I've never needed it. I don't know why I'd want it."
Hirsch couldn't have disagreed more.
"Parks and Recreation is not only a valuable service, with as much as it costs to register a (softball) team, it's also a good business for the city," he said.
Detweiler is an outspoken tax opponent and former Navy officer. Hirsch is an entrepreneur and musician.
On the issue of city budgeting, York and O'Brien stood apart on the future of city revenue.
For years, city budget managers have relied on fuzzy predictions for incoming revenue that often led to gloomy predictions that didn't often come true.
York advocated for adding "mitigating factors" to the city budget because the "maybe" elements such as property taxes, wages and benefits and franchise fees that are paid by utilities are in flux, even as budgets are finalized.
He said the city's finances are in "pretty good shape," adding that with new budgeting factors, the boom and bust cycles of the past should be evened out.
"I don't see that we need a lot of new revenues and we have a decent reserve," he said.
But O'Brien said the city is still operating with a deficit, this year to the tune of $150,000. In May, the council did opt to spend $1.4 million of its nearly $9.5 million surplus for adding services, a trend O'Brien said will lead to ruin if it continues.
"There is no money to raise," he said. "The city's going to have to find efficiencies or cut services and that's not something they want to talk about."
York is now finishing his first term. O'Brien is managing partner of the downtown American Dream Pizza and Crowbar.
When asked about the current council's tendency to enact resolutions pertaining to national issues, such as the recent council support for a U.S. Department of Peace, the Ward 6 difference was black and white.
Detweiler said such resolutions were "a waste of time."
"It's a feel-good thing and there's a lot more to governing the city than making people feel good," he said.
Hirsch disagreed.
"I think part of governing the city is helping people to feel good," he said. "I like being part of a community that supports peace and nonviolence."
All four candidates approached soon-to-come recommendations of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition with caution, however.
The coalition has coordinated a series of town hall meetings and issue groups to craft a citywide sustainability plan that it will present to the council in December.
O'Brien warned that the future council should judge each in light of social and economic as well as environmental impact.
"We do have high-minded goals in Corvallis," he said. "We're also just trying to make a living and raise our family."
York recommended combing through the plan to find ideas he described as hidden "gems."
"I'll be looking for low-hanging fruit," he said. "Sustainability shouldn't cost you; it should pay you back in the long run."
Additional forums for the other two contested council races, in Ward 2 and Ward 5, have yet to be scheduled.
The remaining wards are all holding uncontested elections.
Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or