Growth, finances main topic of discussion at Prior Lake City Council candidate forum

Prior Lake American

Growth and the budget were the foremost themes of the evening at the Prior Lake City Council candidate forum on Wednesday at Prior Lake City Hall.

The forum, which was put on by the Prior Lake Chamber of Commerce, featured the three candidates running for two open city council seats — Warren Erickson, Annette Thompson and David Tieman.

All three candidates said commercial growth in Prior Lake should be encouraged. Erickson said council members should be recruiting businesses to come to Prior Lake.

“Just saying that we’re going to have a broader base of economic development doesn’t get it done — we need to go out there and recruit it,” Erickson said. “We need to recruit by putting in industrial parks so we have places to bring the businesses here.”

Thompson, who currently serves on the council, said it’s a misconception that growth — especially residential — pays for itself with an increased tax base. Thompson said the council could look into developer fees or stopping residential development through a study.

“Property owners do have a right to sell their property, and developers have a right to want to develop,” Thompson said. “One of the recommendations I made that was not well-received was you could stop residential growth for a year if you did a study. Residential growth should be managed at a level where it’s affordable.”

The growth in Prior Lake contributed to an overcrowded school district, Tieman said.

“We had a very large tax increase from the school system because of all the growth,” Tieman said. “We only have so much control over growth, but we can certainly make sure that growth makes sense.”

Erickson agreed that the council only had so much control over growth, but added that certain areas could be zoned so as to be set aside for commercial businesses.

“First thing is zoning — making sure we zone certain areas for commercial and don’t give in to the whims of developers who want to put homes in an area that really needs to be set aside for commercial,” Erickson said, adding that the council needed to meet with neighboring cities due to the cities’ sharing a school district.

All three candidates said that Tax Increment Financing, a public financing method for development, should be used sparingly and for projects that would benefit Prior Lake.

“If there’s a business that’s going to enhance our community, provide a service that’s a benefit to the majority of our community, that’s a time where you would use and allow Tax Increment Financing,” Thompson said. “You don’t want to use it too much.”

Tieman said he is “philosophically” not in favor of the financing.

“There are times where, if a very large investment is made into a community, that makes sense,” Tieman said. “I think we can attract business by promoting our community as it.”

Erickson said that it’s a misconception that Tax Increment Financing could be used for any project.

“If it’s something that can justify itself, we should use it,” Erickson said. “Those opportunities are limited. A lot of people think it’s something you can willy-nilly use. It’s not — it’s something you have to justify.”

The candidates said the city did well with its budget but that there could be improvements. Thompson said she would like the city to do a zero-base budget each year, where each department starts at $0 and determines what needs to be paid for from there.

“I think we could find some savings there,” Thompson said. “The question should be why is it needed, not how should we pay for it. There are needs, and you never have enough money, so you have to be very thoughtful about where you’re spending your money every single year.”

Thompson also said she would like to see the city work more proactively to spend down the debt service, which affects the tax levy.

“That’s a lot of money we could use for roads and other things we need,” Thompson said.

Tieman said he would give the city a “B” grade on budgeting and adhering to the budget, adding that priorities could be better balanced.

“Adding bonds should only occur when it’s needed — when there’s large capital improvements needed or when there’s an emergency,” he said.

Erickson disagreed and said the city should bond for big-ticket items like road projects or the construction of a government building.

The forum was recorded and can be viewed on Mediacom channel 808 and Integra channel 15. The video will also be put on the city of Prior Lake’s website “a couple days following the event,” according to a news release. Residents can watch the forum at cityofpriorlake.com.

Election Day is on Nov. 6 and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents can go to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website, sos.state.mn.us., for a sample ballot, voting locations and voter registration information.

The two candidates with the most votes will win seats on the Prior Lake City Council.