Two incumbents on the Kalispell City Council are unopposed in the Nov. 3 municipal elections: Bob Hafferman in the Ward 1 and Tim Kluesner in Ward 4.

Hafferman is running for his third, and what he said will be his final, term.

Kluesner is wrapping up his first four years and looking toward another four.

Since being recruited to run against an incumbent in 2001, Hafferman has been an advocate of public input and a watchdog on legal and fiscal matters.

A council that sets policy and maintains oversight of the city manager and staff is imperative to keep the city budget on an even keel - and that oversight has been lacking in recent years, he said.

Tax increment finance districts are just one piece of the budget puzzle, but he's seeing their original intent dissolve.

"At one time tax increment districts had a purpose. The downtown's purpose was to renovate the downtown area, others have been to attract employment and to bring business," Hafferman said. "That has not proven to be an economic benefit to the citizens.

"We upgrade an area but the tax base is frozen, so as the development comes it needs more services," he said. "We can't get the taxes from them so we've got to raise it from other people … I call it a slush fund."

The airport increment district was formed to tackle repair and maintenance issues but now, he said, Airport Director Fred Leistiko and the Federal Aviation Administration propose an expansion.

Strings attached to FAA money don't sit well with Hafferman, and he opposes Leistiko's idea to add 1,000 feet to the runway.

A plan for another 540 houses in Siderius Commons near the airport also is a bad idea, he said, because it puts the airport "in the middle of the city."

Hafferman is a constant voice on the council calling for economic analysis of pending decisions.

Annexing "islands" of development, such as Silverbrook to the north or the industrial park to the south, are unreasonably expensive because of the need for extensive sewer lines, fire protection and the like, he said.

"The basic solution is to follow the law, period," he said.

Kluesner often is in the economic analysis mode himself.

"I am the member who tries to look out for the constituents and taxpayers," Kluesner said. "I'm one of the few council members willing to ask the tough questions."

He likens the council to a board of directors that gives guidance on what the city needs and why. He likes City Manager Jane Howington's plan for developing the 2010-11 budget over several months of council work sessions.

"That's not micromanagement, but management," he said.

The role of tax increment financing should be downplayed because "they are part of why we have budget problems now," he said. They "are sucking the money away from the general fund and they're not paying for the services we use."

Most of the city's growth, he pointed out, is happening outside designated increment districts. Even the airport district doesn't benefit the city as a whole, he said, and the airport facility itself shouldn't be expanded without a public vote.

"It hasn't been justified," he said.

Kluesner said the city needs to tighten its belt.

Past "growth didn't pay for itself because the city was on a spending spree," he said. Now he wants to "work on salaries, general expenditures, consolidate purchasing … The city needs to work more efficiently."

And he wants the council to craft a long-term plan for he city.

"We don't even have a consolidated capital improvement list," he said. "Where's the city council in driving the vision?"

But first the city has to survive this winter's continuing recession, he said, and make it into the next budget cycle.

"Kallispell needs to create jobs," he said. "But … we should go with a regional or countywide vision. it will take partnership and cooperation with the private sector."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com