Budgets, taxes, jobs and the economy were the themes of the Freeborn County Commissioner District 3 debate Wednesday night at Albert Lea City Hall.

Albert Lea City Counselor John Severtson, incumbent Jim Nelson, former commissioner Keith A. Porter Sr. and hotel manager David Shoff sought to stand out from one another.

Many issues came before the candidates, but economics stood out as something all were concerned with and wanted to address if they became commissioner.

“The reason I got into this race is because of the property taxes in Freeborn County,” Shoff said during his opening remarks.

Four years ago, Shoff ran for commissioner in the same district because of property tax problems, he said, and today the issues haven’t changed. According to Shoff, the county is facing a $2 million deficit and a 20 percent “pop” in property taxes.

The county, he said, needs to get the budget under control and stop relying on property tax increases.

“I’m up to the game of trying to help this budget out,” said Nelson. “We know we’ve got some problems coming up, and that’s why I’m running again.”

One of the first questions for the candidates centered on economic development. Severtson said the main reason Freeborn County isn’t growing as much in jobs as everyone wants is because of the county’s proximity to Iowa and Iowa’s better tax base.

The five mayoral candidates debate at 7 p.m. today at Albert Lea City Hall.

“Iowa is our biggest enemy,” Nelson said, noting tax-incentives are better there. “We need to cut off the bottom half of Minnesota and move it to Iowa, and we’d have all kinds of jobs.”

Porter suggested focusing on developing small businesses and existing businesses rather than pulling in large corporations.

“I think the county should play a supporting role in economic development,” Shoff added.

However, he said before economic growth can happen, property taxes need to be re-examined.

“We have the highest property taxes of the surrounding counties in this area. We’re not going to have economic development if this escalation continues,” he said.

For good economic development to happen, Severtson suggested improving the quality of the surrounding community to make the area more appealing to business owners looking to relocate.

“I think the lakes are important,” he said. “You clean up them, you get them going, you get people to come and visit, and maybe by chance one person will say ‘Let’s start a business here.’”

The county works well with the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency and Executive Director Dan Dorman, according to Nelson, but more efforts could be made to build up small businesses.

Another question relating to county budgets and spending asked candidates where they would reduce or cut the budget because of imposed levies from the state.

Porter stated the obvious: that everyone wants less taxes. However, he said, more services and more people requiring the services will mean there have to be more taxes. His suggestion was for the county to look at its employees and see if any positions can be reduced or cut.

Nelson, who has been reviewing the county’s budget with his fellow commissioners, said the three areas that can be cut are the Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Human Services and the Highway Department. They are the only three areas where numbers can be moved around and “we’re going to be doing that.”

Shoff expressed his desire for more time to answer the budget question because the driving force behind his campaign is the county’s budget. He had a copy of last year’s county budget with him.

He suggested starting a completely new budget at the county instead of going off the previous year’s numbers. Shoff said he wants to look at each department, start from zero and add up. The limit on tax levies are in place, he said, because counties and cities are “going out of control.

“We need to get the budget and the taxes under control,” he said.

All the discussion on budgets, taxes and spending reflected on each candidate’s answers about other topics such as the Shell Rock River Watershed District’s septic system rules, maintaining and improving county roads and bridges, countywide transportation, county-provided services for senior citizens, communicating with state officials, annexation, the feedlot ordinance, the Albert Lea Lake dam and even countywide recycling.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of tough decisions made in the next four years … I think I’m up to it. I’ve learned an awful lot in the last four years,” Nelson said.

A lot of interesting questions were asked, Severtson said, and if he was elected he would work between the city and county to solve problems.

“There’s something different all the time. It never seems like you’re going to learn the job,” Porter said of being a commissioner. “It’s kind of interesting, and still it’s thankless.”

Shoff said he is running for commissioner in District 3 because of taxes. If he is not the candidate of choice, he said, then voters should ask their preferred how he feels about balancing the budget and getting spending under control.

He said voters should ask their candidates, “‘How do you see this county five years from now, 10 years from now?’ That’s really why you run for office, because you have a vision.”