The three candidates to be Lincoln’s next mayor — Independent Roger Yant, Republican Ken Svoboda and Democrat Chris Beutler —fielded questions from members of the Lincoln Independent Business Association during a noon luncheon today.

Here is a condensed, paraphrased version of the questions and answers; Cliff’s notes, if you will:

As you meet with business people around Lincoln, what is their top concern?

Yant: The lack of aggressive recruitment of businesses. Property taxes. And the city’s unwillingness to work with businesses to get things done. “It is known as a hard city to do business in,” he said.

Svoboda: The inability of government to get anything done. Rather than form another task force to examine the issue, the city needs to take “action over process.” He would give one of his mayoral aides the authority to act as a conduit in any city department to break logjams.

Beutler:  The lack of strong leadership. It’s time to restore confidence in city government first. He vowed not to increase the property tax rate in 2007 said he’d cut expenses in order to balance the city’s budget. He said it’s time to end the city’s “duct-taped budgeting” process and cut long-term spending in order to right-size city government.

If the city can clear the path for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to build a house in one week, why can’t similar streamlining of planning and permitting be done for our local builders?

Svoboda: Because there’s been no strong, bold leadership from the mayor. Builders shouldn’t be given carte blanche, but appointing an aide as a conduit would help get the job done faster. For example, when the mayor wanted to help John Q. Hammons build an extended stay hotel on a downtown block, she held a press conference in December and the hotel was on the council agenda the following month. Similar swiftness should happen daily. 

Beutler: Strong leadership. Often the mayor doesn’t tell directors what she wants to happen, and disputes occur among agencies. Mid-level managers haven’t gotten the message and city employees need to be held accountable. He would tap one of his aides to shepherd significant projects from start to finish. “We’re going to find out why things are slowing down,” he said.

Yant: He would invite people in the building industry to tell him what the problems are, then have a “Kumbaya meeting” to explain to city employees that they are servants of the people. The city should operate like a business, and if an employee isn’t on board, he said, “I’m not afraid to let employees go.”

Should eminent domain (the city’s right to take private property for a public use) be used, and if so, in what situations?

Beutler: Eminent domain should be used rarely, and considered on a case-by-case basis. It shouldn’t be rejected entirely, but the city should act rationally and fairly, respecting property rights whether the the person owns a lot or a little property.

Yant: It should be used sparingly for things like roads, not as a tool to displace businesses. “It seems like we are in an eminent domain frenzy,” he said. “We should not be throwing people out of their businesses so that we can build parking garages.”

Svoboda: It should be used for public projects, but the city should be “extremely cautious” about using it otherwise. He said while he would have loved to see John Q. Hammons build a hotel in downtown Lincoln, he opposed the taking of private property for Hammons. He said people fear eminent domain because they don’t trust government, and the city needs to restore that trust. He reminded people that the City Council refused to authorize eminent domain to take the Taste of China to make way for a parking garage.

What would you do to rein in personnel costs and balance the city’s budget?

Yant: City employees receive a generous retirement package that is matched by the city 2-to-1. Cutting that to a 1-to-1 match would save about $3 million. The city bus system costs $9 million to operate but only brings in about $1.3 million. We need to cut government, and learn to make do with less.

Svoboda: Personnel costs are high but we need to remember the city deals with five unions that demand pay increases and benefits. But labor leaders also don’t feel city employees have the respect of the mayor’s office, so the city has to work with them. Perhaps the city could reduce its retirement contribution percentage from the current 12 percent, but city employees will fight any reduction in the match.

Beutler: The City Council has done nothing about the “structural defects” in the budgeting process. While he declined to give specifics, he said if elected, everything would be on the table for cuts, but he would not increase property taxes. “We’ve got to grow the city,” he said.

How do we raise revenue, specifically?

Svoboda: Create a favorable tax climate, expand the tax base and make government more efficient. While he pledged not to raise taxes, he said the tax base must be expanded through economic development projects like the Verizon Wireless call center coming to Lincoln. Get rid of expensive city programs that aren’t crucial.

Beutler: Growth is extremely important. Resolve the city’s street construction deficit. Implement his proposal to divert a portion of the sales tax generated in new developments toward street construction. And change the state’s outdated highway allocation fund so Lincoln gets its fair share of dollars back.

Yant: Attract more business. He would assign a staffer to recruit businesses such as Verizon to Lincoln, and “make people want to stay.”

What do you think of northeast Lincoln issues and the Wal-Mart that was proposed for 84th and Adams (which Mayor Coleen Seng killed because she said it was too big for that area)?

Beutler: We need to build closer to Interstate 80 and use it more; make it part of the city.

Yant: He would have liked to see the Wal-Mart built closer to the Lancaster Event Center.

Svoboda: Northeast Lincoln residents wanted the Wal-Mart, and he supported it. “You cannot stop projects like that.”

What is your vision for downtown?

Yant: We can keep spending money to keep the downtown viable but we’re probably throwing “good money after bad” because downtown will never be as vibrant as it was in the 1950s. He said the city doesn’t need another parking garage downtown.

Svoboda: He’d promote downtown but not at the expense of the rest of the city. There’s a demand for more downtown housing, and those people will soon create a demand for things like grocery stores and other amenities.

Beutler: Downtown is important, and the broader downtown has a lot of developable space that the city should help develop into university research facilities. The city needs to do more to develop UNL’s capacity as an economic generator.

Closing remarks:

Svoboda: You’ll hear common themes among all three candidates about jobs, leadership and accountability, but he said he’s proven his leadership on the City Council — even though as one of only three Republicans on the council he’s been on the losing end of a lot of votes. As mayor, he would lobby corporations to come to Lincoln and “move Lincoln forward.”

Yant: He would lower taxes, bring in business and bring honesty and change to Lincoln’s leadership.

Beutler: It’s time to cooperate and create a vision for the city. “We’ve been teaching each other apart,” he said, “whining and complaining about the small stuff.”  If elected, he would help do that by forming a broad-based MOVE Council to form consensus on economic development in Lincoln.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.