The six survivors in the Lawrence City Commission race faced off Monday night in their first post-primary public forum, tackling growth and tax abatement issues.
Incumbent candidates David Dunfield, Erv Hodges and Marty Kennedy as well as challengers Sue Hack, Adam Mansfield and Scott Bailey all agreed tax abatements are necessary, but not all are sure they are being used properly.
Mansfield said he doesn't believe the city fully understands the ramifications of tax abatements. It needs to examine the effects of past tax abatements, he told about 100 people at Lawrence High School.
"They usually end up benefiting the companies more than they do the taxpayers," Mansfield said.
Kennedy, however, said he believed abatements help increase the city's tax base, noting that an abatement is a deferral, not an elimination of tax payments by a company. A task force already is studying the effects of abatements, he said.
Tax abatements are used to "level the playing field" with other cities offering them in attracting businesses, he said.
"It is not the only tool we have to bring industry here but in many cases it is the deciding factor," Hodges said.
Hack agreed abatements are necessary if used properly to bring jobs to the city.
"The last thing we want to do is become a bedroom community for Topeka," she said.
Abatements should be used only for special times, Bailey said. In cases of "super abatements," he thinks the issue should be put to a popular vote.
Dunfield, however, doesn't think the city has used tax abatements adequately. Companies have been offered maximum abatements, he said.
The city should rely more on emphasizing its "great work force" and quality-of-life issues to attract businesses, he said.
The forum was sponsored by LawrenceDouglas County League of Women Voters, Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods and LHS Youth in Local Government.
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